The Only Exception
by Deviant-Little-Angel
Summary: She was always an exception. Never fully one thing, never another. All she wanted was to find the missing link in her life. Her father. But will he want her and accept her the way she is? Starts from after COS. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Lost, yet found

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, don't own anything recognisable from Harry Potter.**

**I would like to thank my friends. Michaela and Mercedes for spell checking this story for me and for helping me come up with a title! You guys are awesome!**

**Takes place after the second book. Nearly everything that happened in the first two books will have happened in this story. However some characters may be changed a little and have a different past.**

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Severus Snape walked through the forbidden forest. Alone. The silence calmed him. Back at the castle all the students were doing their last minute packing before they got back on the train and headed home for the summer holidays. He was glad they were all going home, sometimes being surrounded by hundreds of students could be a real pain. He stepped over fallen trees and through bushes looking for any herbs or fungi for his potions work while he thought about the upcoming quietness the castle underwent once the students were gone. He could spend his days in his private lab and not have to teach potions to any dim witted students, like Neville Longbottom. Or deal with any know-it-all's like Hermione Granger. Or deal with Harry Potter. From the moment Severus laid eyes on Harry he disliked him. It wasn't because Harry was like his father as everyone thought. It was because seeing the child's green eyes; Lily's eyes reminded him of what he lost. And Harry's recent heroics within the Chamber Of Secrets didn't impress him much either. Part of him wanted Harry to have lived his whole life as a muggle. Then Severus wouldn't have to see him. But Snape knew Petunia. The boy wouldn't have been happy there. For a minute Severus was left wondering what his life would be like if he had a child. Then he remembered how much they could annoy him and he figured it was best he didn't have a kid. Besides, he would need a woman patient enough to put up with him, and the only woman he had ever wanted was Lily Evans.

His thoughts depressing him, he continued walking. Listening to the odd call of a bird and the snap of twigs under his feet he reveled in the silence once more. Sunlight dancing between the trees was abruptly interrupted by a massive shadow passing over. He glanced up to see two powerful gray back legs and a long spiked tail passing over the trees. He didn't need to see the rest to work out that it was a dragon. Though what a dragon was doing flying freely over Hogwarts, Snape had no idea. A snapping sound bought him back into reality and he strained his eyes to see what was there. Heart pounding, he drew his wand and cautiously took a few steps forward. Paranoia set in and for a moment he thought the snapping of tree branches was the sound of the dragon landing. He shook his head as he smirked. A dragon landing in the forest would break more than a few branches. More confident now he strode forward into the clearing.

To the far side lay some object. It resembled a small girl, but Severus couldn't work out why a girl would be falling from the sky. He moved closer, discovering it really was a girl. He could make out her long silvery blond hair tangled with leaves, twigs and dirt covering the ground like a fan. She had landed on her side and had her back to him. He took his eyes away from her hair and noted her pale pink dress and the long iridescent wings peeking out between her hair, coming out of her shoulder blades and blowing gently in the breeze. He moved closer once more and down to her level. There was no way she could be alive. Something had taken off half of one wing; her neck, arms and one leg lay at funny angles indicating a lot of broken bones. He glanced up wondering if the one to do such damage was the dragon. An uncontrollable urge grabbed him and he went to brush the hair away from her face and see what she looked like. He began to move but the fluttering of her eyelids made him shift backwards in shock. She couldn't be alive. Her injuries were too severe. He glanced down at her bare leg and watched in disbelief as he leg shifted, the break corrected itself and all the scrapes covered themselves. Her arms followed suit and then her head moved.

The angle changed and shifted until her head was at a more realistic angle. Severus couldn't believe his eyes. This small girl had just healed herself! He estimated her to be about 12 years but she wasn't exactly human, so he couldn't be entirely sure. Checking she wasn't watching he cast a quick diagnosis spell. She was unconscious, all the breaks and scrapes had fully healed. After a quick internal argument he decided to carry her back to Hogwarts. If need be, they could always remove any memories about Hogwarts. He went to pick her up before he realised she had wings. Wondering if it would be easier to float her he glanced down and watched her wings shimmer and then disappear completely. Two small tattoos appeared where the wings had come from on her back. If he didn't know better he would say her wings just 'absorbed' into her back. She now looked more like a human. He scooped her up and nearly dropped her in surprise. She couldn't have weighed more than 40 pounds.

He walked as quickly as he could, not wanting to drop the girl, to whom he already was caring for, even though he had never seen her before. Something about her seemed familiar though. As he left the forest and headed toward the castle he failed to notice Hagrid standing in the pumpkin patch watching him. Hagrid eyed Snape cautiously, glancing toward the bundle in his arms. Eyes opening in shock, Hagrid quickly realised Snape held a girl in his arms. Thinking it to be a student, Hagrid headed up to the castle as well.

As Severus stepped up the stairs into the castle Minerva McGonagall came out, gasping as she noticed the child he carefully held.

"Get her up to Poppy." She turned back to the students behind her "Everyone, move out of the way. Now please. This includes you Mr. Malfoy." She nearly snapped at the blond boy who was trying to see what Professor Snape was doing.

"Was...was that a student?" Neville squeaked. Unlike most of the other students he had seen the girl as Snape rushed her toward the hospital wing.

"I'm sure everything will be okay. Now everyone, into the carriages please." She watched as the students got onto their rides to head back to the Hogwarts express. Once the carriages began to leave she too headed up the stairs to the hospital wing to check out the strange girl, who Minerva instantly realised wasn't a Hogwarts student.

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**Next chapter will be up within the next three days, depending on my internet connection. **

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	2. Wanting answers

**Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own anything that you may recognise**

**Thanks to: My friends again, they are still awesome! And to all those who reviewed and/or added the story to their watch list!  
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For the first few days after the students left, Severus Snape found he couldn't fully concentrate on anything he did. His thoughts kept drifting to the blonde girl he had found in the forbidden forest. Professor Dumbledore had started trying to work out where she came from and who to talk to about her but had remained unsuccessful. The girl remained unconscious in the hospital wing, and until she awoke she would remain a mystery. Snape hadn't seen her since Poppy Pomfrey had got him to put the girl on a bed before pushing him away. He asked to be notified when she awoke, but he didn't believe they would tell him. It had been three days. Surely she should awake sometime.

He left the darkness of his private lab and headed up to the hospital room. He took his time, trying to work out why it was he couldn't get her out of his mind. Something about seeing her lying broken on the ground made him upset. But she was just some random stranger. Why should he care about her?

Minerva McGonagall looked up as Severus Snape strode into the hospital wing. He didn't stop to look at anyone, just walked straight over to where the girl lay in her bed. He looked at her for a moment then stepped away as if to leave. The girl whimpered. Severus stepped toward her again and watched for a moment as she moved around a bit.

"I think she might be waking." Madam Pomfrey's voice whispered somewhere close to his ear. He jumped at the sound, his eyes still focused on the girl. The girl shifted around before she scratched at her arm. Snape pulled her hand away, preventing her nails doing any damage before he realised what he had done. Poppy, Minerva and Severus watched as the child's eyes fluttered before opening slowly. She sat up, blinking a few times as Severus released her arm. As she looked around her gaze landed on the women, a frightened expression crossed her delicate looking face. And she was gone.

Severus looked around, but there was no sign of her. Instinctively he looked around, before getting down to floor level and looking under the bed. _Why do I get the feeling she will be down here? _Snape thought. To his surprise cowering under the bed was the little girl. She looked up when he noticed her. His dark eyes stared into her lighter eyes. In the lighting it was hard to tell what colour they truly were. He wordlessly held out his hand. She hesitated, then crawled forward to slip her small hand into his bigger one. She gave him a small brilliant smile. Snape felt rather odd, he was happy, pleased, as if a small smile could light the world. Swiftly, he pulled the girl to her feet then swung her up onto the bed once more.

Again she became frightened when she looked at the stern faces of the people staring at her and she tried to pull away, but Severus kept a firm grip on her hand. She sat still with her knees pulled in close for a moment, looking down at her toes, ignoring all those around her. She leaned her head forward on her knees, her waist length hair forming a curtain around her. Snape looked down at her, wanting to comfort her but held back.

"See if you can work out who and what she is, and where she is from." Dumbledore suddenly said from behind him. Severus hadn't noticed the headmaster enter, but he watched as the two women walked away with Dumbledore.

He turned back to the girl, releasing the hold on her hand as he sat on the edge of the bed. He waited for her to look up but she didn't. He was a little confused as to what to say to her, he didn't even know if she spoke English.

"Hi, I'm...I'm Severus. Severus Snape. What's your name?" He spoke softly, in a voice he wasn't aware he had. Her head raised, and he found himself staring into a pair of dove grey eyes. Severus was startled. As the girl smiled her face lit up and her grey eyes changed to a brilliant shade of blue. That wasn't natural. He watched her for a moment, to see if anything else changed but it remained the same.

"I'm called Lilly...usually." She had a smile on her face but Snape noticed the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her voice held no trace of an accent but sounded rather musical. He smiled as she relaxed her guard and sat with her legs folded under her.

"Where are you from...Lilly?" He nearly choked on her name. She didn't notice.

"Nowhere. And I'm not going back." She had such a determined look on her face that he nearly laughed.

"Why? Don't you want to go home? Back to your family?" He gently spoke, hoping she wouldn't get scared and disappear again. She just looked at him, then sadly down at her hands. Severus waited for her to speak, wishing she would open up to him.

"I don't...I can't go home. I don't really have one."

"Surely you have a family? Everyone has one"

"I don't. Where is your family?" She was avoiding his gaze, looking downwards then around the room. It was unlike any place she had ever been. Snape looked down at his hands. He didn't have a family. Lilly caught him. Not everyone had a family.

"I don't have a family. But I'm older than you, I don't need one. You do."

"No I don't." Lilly crossed her arms over her chest, as a form of a shield. "I take care of myself. Always have." She shrugged her shoulder as if she didn't care. Snape could tell she was lying. She could speak, and very well. Again she looked downward, this time at the silk pink dress that was all torn and scratched, barely staying together in parts. She absently ran her hand over the scratches, the dirt and the tears. Under her hand formed a slight silver light as the dress repaired into its beautiful original state. Severus looked at Lilly who didn't look surprised to see the dress fixed, in fact, he thought she looked pleased.

He sat with her for several hours, asking her questions and watching her reactions as she brushed away any that were too personal. She asked plenty of questions too but he brushed them off lightly. He was far too interested in finding out all he could about the little blonde that her questions were answered as quickly as possible. After hours of talking and the only useful info he had was her name. Even then, he wasn't sure that was her real name.

She fell asleep as she was asking him where he found her, so Severus covered her gently with a blanket. He walked out and found Albus, Minerva and Poppy in the Headmaster's office. They all looked at him expectantly. He didn't know what they expected from him. He was a potions master, not a people person. And certainly not one to like children much. The silence was awkward. Albus was the one to break it. He leaned forward from behind his desk, eyebrows raised.

"Any news?" Albus leant back as Severus took a chair and sighed.

"No, not really. She won't say anything about where she is from, why she was in the forest. or anything. The only thing she told me was her name. Lilly. And she knows about magic. Or well, can do her own. It varies from ours slightly though. And I get the distinct feeling she is a runaway." Snape ran his hand through his hair, disappointed he couldn't get more information from her.

"How does her magic vary?" Albus asked, genuinely confused. To him, the girl appeared totally human. Severus sighed.

"She doesn't use a wand. Or say anything out loud. She actually pulled away from me when she saw my wand. It took a bit to convince her nothing was going to happen. She did mention that only royalty had wands. But they weren't like mine. Once she realised I wasn't this 'royalty' she calmed down." Severus frowned for a moment. "Oh, and she moves fast. Very fast. One moment she is right in front of me, the next she is half way down the room. I didn't even see her move." Poppy nodded.

"We noticed that. It's not natural. Is it?" She looked toward Dumbledore, who shook his head.

"No, well, not for us. It might be for her, after all. Severus saw her with wings." He glanced toward Snape who was looking out a window absently. "We need to know what she is. And where she is from. If she doesn't tell us how will we get her home?"

"She doesn't want to." Snape answered his question, continuing watching the skies outside.

"Ah, but everyone has to go home sometime." Albus told him gently. Severus thought about that. he hadn't gone 'home' since he was able to leave for good. He didn't see the point. There were too many memories, mostly bad ones. Minerva's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"There is a way to find out her parents."

"How so?" Albus sounded amused.

" Genealogy chart." Minerva sounded certain it would work.

"That's for wizards though. For humans. I thought she wasn't human." Poppy interrupted. Minerva turned to her.

"We could try it. What do we have to lose?" Minerva turned to Dumbledore. he smiled back at her, nodding.

"Yes we shall try it. Severus?"

"You should try it yourselves. I just built trust with her. I'm not going to ask her to slice open a finger so we can find out where to send her." Severus said bitterly. He didn't honestly think it would work. And part of him didn't want it to work. He didn't want to send her back. _What is happening? I've never cared for children. But here I am, hoping to keep this little child in my life. She isn't even my child. _ But part of him wished she was. He had never wanted a child, yet he wanted it so badly.

"We should wait until she is awake though. Poor little girl." Poppy said as she headed back to the hospital wing. Albus and Minerva both nodded. Severus felt this was his chance to leave, so he rose and fluidly strode out of the room without a second glance.

He had been at work in his lab for quite a while when a face appeared in his fire.

"Severus." Albus called, startling him. "I thought you might like to be here when we do the chart." Severus nodded, checked his work and left.

Lilly was startled to see all these people staring at her. The two women looked very strict and the old man had such a long beard. She couldn't help but giggle slightly at the sight of Dumbledore stroking his beard absent-mindedly. Severus appeared and she gave him a brilliant smile. He smiled back at her and sat at the end of her bed. He made no attempts to say anything. Poppy had already asked the girl for permission, and Lilly had given it to her. Very reluctantly. And only because she wanted to know who her father was. Minerva bought over the parchment and Poppy quickly split the skin on the tip of Lilly's finger. A single drop of glistening red blood fell onto the blank parchment. Lilly ran her hand over the cut, healing it instantly as the parchment began to fill with lines and names. Albus looked down reading it silently. He looked up in pure surprise.

"Your parents...wow...your father is..."

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	3. Revelations

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything recognisable. **

**Thanks to Michaela, Sadies and SweetieCherrie for reviewing! **

**I was told I have very hard to pronounce words so if needed the pronunciation is at the bottom of the page.**

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Minerva bought over the parchment and Poppy quickly split the skin on the tip of Lilly's finger. A single drop of glistening red blood fell onto the blank parchment. Lilly ran her hand over the cut, healing it instantly as the parchment began to fill with lines and names. Albus looked down reading it silently. He looked up in pure surprise.

"Your parents...wow...your father is..."

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Albus Dumbledore scanned the paper, nodding occasionally, not saying anything else. Everyone else was holding their breath, waiting for him to say something. Minerva McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"Well?" She demanded. Albus ignored her, still looking at the parchment. Minerva stepped closer to him, trying to look at the parchment, but that required her to read the dainty script upside down. She gave in and tried to step around to read it the right way, but Albus pulled the paper away.

Lilly watched the two adults with fascination. The old bearded guy occasionally looked at her through his half moon glasses and then back down to the paper. As if there was some mistake. She was waiting as patiently as she could. Glancing around she noticed the nurse had walked away and got a vial. Severus stayed at the end of the bed, watching her, a small smile on his face. She was really curious. The knowledge of who her father was had remained a mystery to everyone. Including Lilly, the one person who deserved to know the most.

_Lilly sat on a silky red chair, waiting for her mother. Even at seven years she was extremely intuitive. She was only five when she was first told that she wasn't really her father's child. At first she didn't believe it. Then two years later she realised how obvious it was. Her siblings were nothing like her. They were all born blonde, blue eyed and graceful. Even her two brothers were more graceful than her. She had been born with very dark hair, her eyes changed colours often. When she was little she found she could change her appearance unlike anyone else in the kingdom. The teasing that came from all those who seen her was too much for her to handle and she quickly adopted the blonde hair cherished by the Ayrliann people._

_Ayrliah. The place that for nearly 11 years had been her home. She had loved it there, all the ancient stone buildings, the stained glass windows, the beautiful meadows and forests that had surrounded it. Even the castle that had been home. The royal family lived there. Lilly, her parents, the King and Queen and her four siblings. They were the golden children, perfect in every way. Or at least as close to perfect as possible. Her oldest brother, Silvanus, was always the worst. As the first born male he was to inherit the crown. This made him haughty, and being 11 years older than Lilly, he felt it was his duty to hassle his littlest sister. He had easily worked out Lilly was a mistake. An accident. An unwanted baby. Lilly's oldest sister, Arrioa wasn't as bad as Silvanus, but the two were close, with only a year separating them in age, and they were the ones to inform Lilly she wasn't really their sister. Lachen, her other brother was a lot nicer to Lilly. He treated her the best, and truly loved her, despite her only being his half sister. Eight years older than Lilly, Lachen always cared for her, helping out with baby Lilly as much as he could. He gave her the nickname Lilly, as she despised her birth name, Amarylis right from the moment she was named. Ixia, the youngest of her older siblings thought the nickname was stupid, right from Lilly's birth and nicknaming. Six year old Ixia often pointed out than none of the other children had nicknames. She would say Lilly was stupid for not responding to her royal name. Lachen was the one who protected from the bullying as much as he was able. He was the only person who had understood her. Her hatred of the royal heritage. Her hatred of the formality of their names. Her hatred of knowing she was only half a royal. Half an Ayrliann. _

_Lilly's magic was always the most powerful. She could cast healing spells by the time she was two. And by six she could compel people to do her biding with just her eyes. The Noble Ayrliann's called her the ' diable' child behind her back, the devil child. Once she believed she had fully mastered her charm she went to speak to her mother. Waiting patiently on the silk chair. _

_"Mother, who is my father?" She stared into her mother's eyes, compelling her to tell. A pair of ice blue eyes stared back coldly. Queen Cliantha had known that this day would come, but it was too soon._

_"Your father isn't one of us. He...I met him in a bar." Cliantha put her head in her hands, ashamed to admit that her daughter was illegitimate. Lilly didn't appear to care; she just kept the innocent questioning expression on her small face. Cliantha sat next to her littlest child, brushing back Lilly's blonde hair that was starting to darken as the girl sat there. Lilly looked her mother in the eyes once more._

_"What is his name? What does he look like? Can he do magic? Like me? Where..."_

_"Lilly." The queen cut her off mid question. "Who he is doesn't matter. He is no one. Kairav is your father. He always has been, and always will be."_

_"Does he know I exist?" Lilly asked, looking down at her hands, her silvery wings drooping slightly. Ayrliann people were born with their wings, and their magic made them light enough to fly. But Lilly hadn't always been a good flier. She sadly realised she wasn't even a full blooded Ayrliann. She was half...something. She could have been born with no wings. She could have had no magic. 'My magic has always been stronger and more powerful than anyone I know. Could it be due to my father? 'Was he as strong with magic as me?' Lilly thought sadly, her eyes beginning to mist over._

_"Of course! I notice you distance yourself from him, but he loves you just as much as Silvanus, Lachen and your sisters. You really should make more of an effort to get to know him Amarylis." Lilly winced. Her mother never understood how much the name Amarylis hurt her. Lilly figured her real father might have wanted a different name for his daughter. She had always felt a pull toward Lilly. She shook her head. The Queen was managing to avoid her compelling charms, and the question at hand._

_"No. My birth father. My real father." Cliantha looked at her daughter out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the tears to fall._

_"No. He doesn't. I...I don't really know why I was with him. I can't tell you anything at the moment. You are too young to understand. I will tell you what you need to know when you are older." _

_Lilly shut her eyes, a single tear rolled down her cheek. Someday she would find him. Someday she would let him know he had a girl. Someday she would get out of Ayrliah. For good. She ran from the room, holding a periwinkle handkerchief to her lower face as she left the castle and headed to the gardens. She sat down in the middle of her rows of herbs. The sweet smells had always made her feel happy._

_She didn't know her connection to them, but she was willing to learn. From her garden she decided she would learn all she could about her father and then leave. There was nothing in the kingdom for her. Years of suffering from everyone, every name possible had been called to her. Once a person tried to stab her to kill the devil inside. The Ayrliann race could scare her, and now she knew she truly didn't belong._

_In the years to follow she would learn where her mother met her father, where they stayed that night. And that her ability to connect to things with deep meanings to her would ensure she worked out where to go to learn of her father. So three days after her eleventh birthday she got on her faithful shimmery unicorn, Periwinkle Moon, and rode away from the palace. With little but her magic and feelings to help her get to the place she needed. Hogwarts. _

Hogwarts. She had made it, and was about to find out her birth father. As soon as the bearded man told her. Severus looked at Lilly, who, for several minutes looked like she was in a trance. She had come out of it and was looking up at the headmaster once more. He hadn't noticed. Together he and Minerva and been whispering about the parchment. The suspense of waiting was annoying Lilly. Minerva looked up at the girl in time to watch her raise her arm, the piece of parchment flying into her hand. Dumbledore looked stunned. Lilly silently read the names on the paper. She froze for 30 seconds before she gave a small smile, staring at the small name linked to her own with a silvery line. She allowed the paper to flutter from her fingers. Severus caught it before it hit the bed. He raised his eyebrows at her, asking for permission to read without saying a word. She nodded slightly, still unmoving. He scanned the paper for her name. The silvery smooth script shined softly in the light. Near the bottom of the page he found her name. 'Amarylis Rosalia Dela Butanté' A single line went upward, splitting in half. One side read 'Cliantha Argenta Dela Butanté'. The other side read her father's name. 'Severus Tobias Snape'.

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**Pronunciation:**

**Ayrliah: Are-leah  
Ayrliann: Are-lee-in  
Amarylis Rosalia Dela Butanté: Am-are-ill-iss Rose-ay-leah Day-laa Boo-tun-tay  
Cliantha Argenta: Clee-an-tha Are-gent-ah  
Silvanus: Sill-van-us  
Arrioa: Ah-roy-ah  
Lachen: lock-en  
Ixia:Ick-sah  
Kairav: Kie-riv**

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	4. A daughter!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. **

**Thanks to: Sadies, Michaela and all those who have been reading.**

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**~**

The silvery smooth script shined softly in the light. Near the bottom of the page he found her name. 'Amarylis Rosalia Dela Butanté'

A single line went upward, splitting in half. One side read 'Cliantha Argenta Dela Butanté'. The other side read her fathers name. 'Severus Tobias Snape'.

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Severus Snape stared at the paper, willing it to be wrong. No one dared to speak. The parchment fell from his hands, floating downward toward the floor. Dumbledore put his hand on Severus' shoulder. He waited until Snape came out of shock, looked him in the eye, a genuine smile on his face, instantly making him seem 10 years younger.

"Congratulations." Albus said quietly, but happily. He thought the results couldn't have been better. The girl clearly needed to be loved and Severus needed someone in his life to bring him out of the darkness within the dungeons. Snape didn't respond to the congratulations being offered, he just sat on the bed silently. His eyes flickered between the window and Lilly, his child. Dumbledore retreated slowly. The two women noticed and headed out of the hospital wing just behind him.

_A daughter? My daughter? I...How was I not aware of this? What will she expect of me? I ought to work out how to contact her mother. Get her sent back home. Then we could all go back to living and put this behind us. But could I? I don't think I would be able to. I'd wonder about her. No, I couldn't just send her away like that. But I should contact her mother. Cliantha. I don't know this woman._

"How old are you Lilly?" Severus gently asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm, I've just turned thirteen." Lilly looked up at him, her eyes once more the saddened grey colour. Snape counted back 13 years. He watched her stand up and head towards the window, her silvery hair gently rippling behind her.

_He awoke, the morning sun flowing through the faded yellow curtains. He had no idea how he got there. Or where he was. He sat up, his head pounding. He glanced around, squinting with the bright light. He went to get out of bed, before he realised beneath the thin blanket he was naked. He scanned the room, noting the cheap wallpaper and shabby furniture, assuming he was in a motel of some sort. His coat was on the opposite side of the room, resting on a wicker chair, and he figured the black pile in the corner was the rest of his clothes. He looked down at the pillow beside him, it was pressed in; someone had slept there recently. His hand hovered over it; the pillow was still warm, used very recently. _

_That's when he noticed her. A woman, tall, standing with her back to him, the early morning sun illuminating her beautiful figure. Waist length silvery blonde hair shone like diamonds. A near floor length dress clung to her figure, seemingly rippling in the wind, even though the air was still and silent. Severus cleared his throat._

_"Where are we?" The blonde turned around, her delicate features relaxed as she smiled._

_"You don't remember either?" She laughed; her voice had a musical tone, a pleasant one that made Snape feel happy. He shook his head, staring up at her. He gave a small smile; with the woman now facing him the light illuminated around her head, forming a glowing halo. _

_"Did we...?" He gestured down toward the bed leaving the sentence hanging. She understood, nodding slightly, a blush forming over her porcelain coloured cheeks. She stepped over to the corner, tossing his clothes towards him._

_"I believe so. That would explain why I was pulling my dress off the light." She tilted her head upwards. He looked up and saw a dusty small chandelier. He had to refrain himself from laughing at the image of a delicate lacy white dress hanging off the light. He would have liked to see her trying to get it down. The woman began to laugh, causing him to look over. She had turned back toward the window to give him a chance to dress._

_"What is so funny?" He said, trying really hard to not sound annoyed. He pulled on his shirt as she turned around, delicately raising an eyebrow. She looked so comical he had to stop himself from laughing, pretending to cough to cover the laughter._

_"I can pick up on your thoughts." He looked over at her quizzically. What had he thought that was so funny?_

_"Wanting to see me get the dress down." Snape nearly blushed, his head pounding once more. His hand automatically went to his forehead as the woman came over, looking concerned but on the edge of a laugh. She hovered her hand near his head for a second then pulled away. He noticed his hangover was gone. He went to say something but she danced toward the door with such grace in her steps a ballerina would be jealous. She paused, turning back for a second._

_"Sorry." She sighed, leaving before either of them could do or say anything else. He hadn't even got her name._

Lilly watched Severus, his expression shocked, and...disappointed. _How stupid of me to come here. Why did I believe my birth father would want me? Why would anyone? I should leave...yes, tomorrow I leave. I'll slip away while everyone else sleeps. No need to say anything. It's not like they care. _She shook her head a slight bit as she returned to the bed, pulling the blanket over her knees. Her shoulder blades stung, where the tattoo-like marks were. She knew instantly she had injured her wings, and didn't heal them before pulling them back in. She wouldn't be able to fly properly for quite some time. Severus still stared blankly out the window, immediately causing Lilly to wonder what he was thinking. She slowed her breathing down and cleared her mind, she began to hear bits of words in his voice, his thoughts too fast for her to pick up on. She relaxed further, letting her mind slip into his slowly, and managed to catch his memory of her mother leaving. She found herself slipping out his head and she looked up to see him smirking at her.

"You can read minds." Lilly nodded slightly, unsure whether it was a question or not. He dropped all expressions off his face.

"I'm...I'm not very good though. It's easier to pick up thoughts if they have strong emotions attached with them." She stuttered a bit, trying to focus, wringing her hands in the blanket to keep her calm. He sighed, sitting at the end of the bed, unsure what to say. They both sat in silence, the tension in the air thick and heavy. Snape lent down, picking up the forgotten parchment. He looked at it confused, as if there was something wrong. Lilly wanted to know what could be wrong, but she didn't say anything. She just sat there solemnly until the doors swung open and in walked Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey.

The nurse straight away went over to Lilly, gently shifting the girl so she could examine her back. She quietly asked the young girl to sit still so she could lower the back of her dress a bit, but just watched in amazement as the dress transfigured into a ice blue halter dress, the bottom half of the outfit covered by the blanket which had also changed colour slightly. Poppy raised her eyebrows to both Severus and Albus who had also noticed the transfiguration. Albus looked Lilly in the eyes.

"Do you always do that?" He asked her gently. She looked back confused, raising one eyebrow delicately. He sighed. "Your dress. It wasn't like that when we came in." Lilly looked down, brushing her hands over the silk. She winced as the nurse gently ran her fingers over one of the wing symbols.

"What's wrong Lilly?" She turned toward the voice, toward Severus who stared back at her in concern.

"Nothing. I think. Just must have injured myself." She paused, turning back allowing the nurse to look at her once more, unaware if they knew about her wings.

"Your wings?" Snape asked gently. She looked back at him, her head turning unnaturally fast, her blonde hair flickering out elegantly behind her as she spun. She didn't know what to do. People were not supposed to see her with wings, though if they could see them, it was a sure sign they had control over magic. Ordinary people couldn't see them at all, or the marks on her back.

"You had wings when I found you." Lilly raised her eyebrow. "One of them was damaged, but it disappeared and I couldn't tell if you healed it. It was amazing though, you healed all the injuries that would ordinarily kill a person." Lilly smiled. Then frowned.

"My wing? Damaged? How bad? They can't be healed as easily as bones or anything else." Severus got down to her level, confused.

"They were...well one is missing a chunk. Where do they go? I swear, they disappeared before my eyes." He seemed relaxed once more.

"I, I pull them in. The go into the little marks here" She indicated the tattoos. "I wish I had paid more attention in health, then I could heal them..." She muttered, Severus only just caught her sentence. Poppy came around to face her.

"Could you bring them out? Perhaps we could heal them." Lilly smoothly got off the bed, untangling the blanket fluidly so she could stand. Snape focused on her intently, waiting to see the wings once more. Slowly, the light behind her began to shine gently and he watched transfixed as at set of pale wings grew; invisible at first until they grew in size. When they reached about 3 feet they stopped. A pair of jagged edged wings stuck out of her silky hair, which had darkened significantly before Lilly noticed, quickly changing the colour back light once more. The three adults looked at her wings, noticing immediately that one wing had quite a large chunk cut out of it.

Poppy reached out to gently touch the wing; Lilly panicked and took a step back. _What has happened to this poor sweet girl? _Poppy's voice filled her head. Lilly could feel the sadness within her thoughts. Then Lily realised she had picked up on the woman's thoughts without trying. She was stunned, thinking about her mind reading ability and barely noticed when Madame Pomfrey touched the wing. However, Snape, Dumbledore and Pomfrey all noticed that her body responded. The second the hand and wing connected Lilly's shield came down and her hair immediately darkened, her features changed slightly and she almost looked like a new person. Lilly quickly realised what had happened and before they could blink she was the little blonde again. Dumbledore sighed, and looked at her.

"Would you mind removing your glamour spell? We would like to see what you truly look like."

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	5. Without her shield

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The second the hand and wing connected Lilly's shield came down and her hair immediately darkened, her features changed slightly and she almost looked like a new person. Lilly quickly realised what had happened and before they could blink she was the little blonde again. Dumbledore sighed, and looked at her.

"Would you mind removing your glamour spell? We would like to see what you truly look like."

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Lilly looked up. She kept a blank facial expression but underneath she was panicking. She had to get out. She glanced toward the door, wondering how long it would take her to get there. She could move very fast when she wanted to, but the people around her might try to stop her; that and her dress really wasn't designed for moving quickly. She looked at the adults, who stared back expectantly.

_Lilly was not even four when she worked out how to cast a small glamour spell. Within two weeks she had mastered it. After practise she found she could maintain her 'shield' as she thought of it for many days. Occasionally at night she would relax the shield but in time the glamour would become a second nature to her. It was always around her, only dropping at times of great distress or shock. Her mother looked happy when she saw the new Lilly for the first time. Lilly had based her looks on her mother; she was like a mini replica except Lilly's hair was a shade or two lighter and Lilly's eyes still changed with her mood. Even when she was hiding away she kept the shield up, though there wasn't another person to see her._

Lilly looked around, everyone gazed at her. She shrunk under their gaze. She struggled to stop herself from crying. After living alone for quite a while she was used to not having anyone around to expect things from her. She liked it, and wasn't fully alone. Periwinkle was with her most of the time. Though recently he was with a younger silver female and spent a few days at a time away. She didn't mind, believing everyone should get some freedom. _Just relax the spell. We won't make you keep it down, You can put it back up if you want. _Lilly jumped as Severus' silky voice entered her mind. She began to release her shield.

Her waist length blonde hair began to darken and curl until she was left with shorter shiny curls, the colour of the night sky. Her face lengthened slightly and she instantly looked older than her 13 years. Her skin paled slightly to a perfect porcelain complexion, with stunning cornflower blue eyes and sweetheart lips the colour of cherry blossoms. But while her face matured and became more beautiful the rest of her didn't. She thinned out, gaining two inches of height and was severally underweight. Her arms, legs and neck all had purple bruises from the recent injuries; she hadn't been at full strength and her shield had prevented her from seeing the marks. Unknown to the adults watching in amazement, a long scar formed running from the inside of her upper thigh to the side by her hip. Another formed just under her ribs and one appeared on the top of her wrist. Each one would have bought back painful memories but she had altered them long ago. Just enough so the memories were there, but she could barely remember them.

Severus had never felt so proud in his life. The raven haired beauty before him was his child. He had helped create her. He held a neutral expression on his face, keeping his pride inside, but Lilly picked up on it and smiled shyly. The adults all looked at each other, all agreeing not to question her motives for covering up her appearance, at least for a while. They sat on the beds once more, Severus sitting next to Lilly, and hesitantly putting his arm around her thin shoulders. He could see the concern reflected on both Dumbledore's and Madame Pomfrey's faces. She looked up at him, a small smile lighting her face. He reached out gently and brushed her hair off her neck, revealing the deep purple bruises. She flinched slightly and tried not to tremble. Poppy leaned over, subtly examining the bruises. She gasped when she saw the severity.

"What happened to you? How? What caused this?" Poppy sounded very upset and concerned, Lilly pulled away slightly, unused to people caring about her. She tried to flick her hair back but Poppy held it away.

"I'm not sure. I remember being in the forest. Flying. And something hit me. I remember falling, fast, unable to slow down. And then I woke up in here." She focused on a bruise on her arm, healing it mentally. To her surprise it healed quickly. She looked confused. Just moments ago she was having problems with her magic; yet now if was working fine. She healed her arms and legs quickly. But being unable to see her neck she wasn't able to heal it as easily. Poppy raised an eyebrow at her healing ability but didn't say anything aloud. Snape however did. He frowned as he looked her in the eye.

"Did you heal your bruises? Or did you cover them up again?" Lilly winced, his tone was harsh. She looked him in the eye, unblinking.

"I healed them. I didn't cover them up." He didn't say anything. "Healed them all. I swear. Well, except for this one" She raised her hand, indicating her neck. "I can't see it and its generally easier to heal things if I can see them." She turned to Poppy, "Do you have a mirror?" Poppy summoned one over and floated it in front of Lilly. The young girl looked at her reflection, her curls drifting back over her shoulder covering the marks once more. She stared at herself for a full minute, unable to truly believe that the girl staring back was her. She lifted her hand to the mirrors surface, watching as the reflection moved as well. She snapped out of it and brushed her hair back. Wincing as she saw the deep purple marks on her neck. Nearly instantly they disappeared and Lilly rolled her head around, pleased to feel no pain there. Lilly yawned, and quickly tried to cover it up. But Dumbledore noticed. He sent the mirror back and stood up.

"Perhaps we should let Lilly get some sleep." He smiled at the girl "Goodnight Lilly, sleep well. And there is no need for you to change your appearance back. You suit your natural way." Lilly smiled back at the old man, said goodnight and transfigured her dress into a neat pair of silk pyjamas. Poppy handed her something to drink to help her sleep and she left with Albus. Lilly settled herself down to sleep, then changed her mind and sat up. Leaning over, she wrapped her thin arms around Severus, breathing in his scent of various herbs. He was stunned, and not knowing what to do he returned the hug. He tucked her in and within seconds she was fast asleep. Severus leant over, kissed her forehead gently and walked out of the room, wondering what made him to such an impulsive thing. Under the covers, Lilly smiled.

Outside the door, Albus had waited for Severus. As Snape approached Dumbledore looked him in the eye and asked him what he was going to do about the girl. Severus paced back and forth a bit, unsure what to do.

"I have already sent out and owl to try and contact her mother. She may be worried. After that we will have to see what happens." Albus nodded. He had seen Snape's little owl flying off as the sun rose just after they had found out who her mother was. Whether or not the owl would find her remained a mystery.

"Do you want to have her life with you? And attend Hogwarts in the new year?" Snape stopped pacing. Thinking, he nodded.

"Yes, I'd like that. But it depends on whether her mother will let her stay here. And whether she wants to or not." Dumbledore agreed, commenting on how lucky Snape was to have a child, and to have found her while she was still young. Severus didn't reply, merely nodding in agreement, watching as his cloudy grey owl flew in and gave him the letter. Snape scanned it, his eyes widening in surprise.

"It's from Lilly's mother, Clianthus. She will be coming here tomorrow. And expects to take Lilly home with her for punishment. This will be Lilly's last night here." Severus frowned. He didn't particularly want to let this woman take Lilly away. He heard a soft click and turned back toward the hospital door. He glanced at the Headmaster, who merely shrugged his shoulders. Severus pushed open the door and looked over to the bed where Lilly should have been sleeping. It was empty.

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	6. To stay or to run?

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He heard a soft click and turned back toward the hospital door. He glanced at the Headmaster, who merely shrugged his shoulders. Severus pushed open the door and looked over to the bed where Lilly should have been sleeping. It was empty.

**~**

Lilly hid behind the door after she faked drinking the potion and falling asleep. She listened happily as Severus said how he wanted her to stay and live with him. Then she heard him mention her mother arriving in the morning to take her home. She clicked the door shut and made up her mind. She closed her eyes and muttered a few words silently, then moved and stood close to the door. As Severus opened the door to check on her she slid out, invisible. By the time her mother arrived in the morning Lilly would be back in the middle of the forest, ready to move on with her life alone. She didn't want to leave the father she had only just met, but fate had left her no choice. She had to run away. She could not risk her life by going back to Ayrliah. Never again would she set foot in her former home.

Severus sighed. He was annoyed that the girl had run away, but somewhat glad. After all, her leaving means she wouldn't have to go back to her mother, back to the place the child so obviously feared. He just hoped she was okay. He cleared his mind taking down the blocks he had put up, hoping Lilly was still close enough to hear him.

_Lilly, I'm not sure why you have run away but please, please be careful. The forests are not a place for a small girl at night. I will talk to your mother in the morning, try to convince her to allow you to stay, but it would be easier if you were here. Couldn't you just come back? _

Lilly heard him. His plea made her stop as she was trying to find a way out of the castle. She emptied her mind to send a message back. Severus jumped as Lilly's voice entered his mind. _What would you suggest I do then? I cannot risk going back there. I don't want to see my mother. _Snape thought about that for a moment as he walked out of the hospital wing, heading toward the door to the castle. _Can't we just talk about this Lilly? _She shook her head before realising he couldn't see her. Her invisibility began to flicker. _I don't want to Severus. I just want to leave. _He heard her sigh in his mind, and rounded a corner to see a flicker of the girl.

**~**

Lilly stood in the hall absolutely confused as to where to go. The castle was extremely large and she was easily lost. She was too busy trying to work out where to go next that she didn't notice Severus sneaking up behind her. All of a sudden she jumped as he put his arms around her, causing her to lose the invisibility spell. He held on to her as he looked into her eyes. They were slightly red, indicating she had been crying. She reached up and brushed the tear off her cheek, reducing the redness at the same time. Snape pulled gently on her arm.

"Come on." He began to walk away as Lilly struggled against him, but she wasn't very strong. He pulled the girl after him to his quarters in the dungeons. She looked around interested before she changed her expression; putting on the smirk that Severus Snape himself was famous for. She folded her arms as he waved his wand around a bit. She couldn't tell what he was doing, but tried not to act interested. Lilly didn't want to get too attached; just in case she had to leave suddenly. He asked her if she wanted something to eat seeing as it was nearly dinnertime and took the slight tilt of her head to mean yes. He let go of her and went into another room briefly. Instantly she headed for the door.

Severus chuckled as Lilly tried to open the door. He had spelled it shut, and used a codeword so even her strongest magic wouldn't open it. He used his wand to make up the bed in the spare room as he called for his house elf, Misty, to bring some food. In the main room Lilly had looked at all the windows before realising she wouldn't be able to get out. She had given up and was sitting on one of the chairs looking at a book on herbs when Misty appeared in the room. The little elf set the food on the table and then vanished. Lilly stormed into the spare room.

"What was that?" Severus tried hard not to smile. He directed her back to the dining table and as they ate he explained the elves. Lilly was outraged. Her people were related to elves very very distantly; so far no physical similarities appeared, but Lilly still felt insulted. She explained how her race, Ayrliann, had a rough translation to winged elf. Severus silently swore to not let Lilly see the kitchens at all. He was disappointed to see how little she ate. He did notice however that when it came to chocolate pudding she ate more, clearly preferring it to the meat, of which she ate none. He went to say something but she beat him too it.

"I don't really like meat that much." He nodded. Lilly yawned and Severus grabbed her hand and took her through to the bedroom. He nodded toward the bed so she climbed in, too tired to fight. She snuggled under the blankets and drifted off, with Snape sitting in a chair in the corner until he was certain she was asleep.

He went to his own room, smiling. Lilly was safe, she couldn't leave. He was however a little worried about seeing her mother in the morning. He hadn't seen the woman in 13 years, and even then he barely knew her. He could even remember why it was he was drinking so much he left with a stranger.

**~**

_Lilly opened her eyes to see the familiar lavender walls of her expansive bedroom in the palace. The sun was beginning to rise, to dance across her walls. She got the feeling she wasn't alone so she felt around for any emotions. It was her way of working out if people were near. To her surprise she picked up on a feeling of excitement and arousal. She glanced to the darkest corner of her room, the dancing light picking up a glint of something silver. Before Lilly could make a move a heavy body pressed above her, holding a knife into her throat. She felt her nightgown being pulled from around her and she struggled under the weight. The knife came down and she felt the searing pain as it sliced round the top of her thigh. She tried to scream, opening her mouth..._

_**~**_

Lilly woke up panicking. In the dark she could make out the unfamiliar shapes around her. Her heart beat fast and loud. She trembled. She screamed as Severus stumbled into the room. He lit a candle in the room and held the trembling girl in his arms. He couldn't tell why she was so scared and crying, but he felt it necessary for her tell him in her own time. However he noticed the deep scar in her wrist. He turned her hand slightly to examine the scar. He felt Lilly pull away from him and snuggle under the blankets again, her breathing slowing and she was instantly asleep again. Severus headed back to his own room, slightly confused. He made a mental note to ask her mother about Lilly's past when they spoke in the morning. He was asleep once more as soon as his head hit the pillow.

**~**

Severus woke up to the smell of something cooking. His quarters had a small kitchen, but he rarely bothered to use it unless he didn't want to leave his rooms. He poked his head into the room and watched in amusement as Lilly twirled in the kitchen as she made breakfast. Her dark hair spun in the morning light from his charmed windows; her white dress spun around her as she continued. He watched as she added plates to a tray he had never seen before. He smiled as she conjured up a flower and holding the tray in one hand, walking gracefully over to the table. She placed in down gently and spun around to head toward him. As soon as she noticed him she called out something about breakfast. He stifled a yawn as he mentally told her he wasn't dressed. Lilly rolled her eyes and sat down. _So? Come on! _She sounded so happy he couldn't help but join her. He bit into the pancakes and noted how amazing they tasted. They ate in silence, Severus only breaking it when he informed her that her mother would be here at 10. Lilly stopped eating, her fork falling to the table. She recovered quickly but he noticed her eyes had changed from a beautiful emerald colour to a deep dark grey. He sighed as he finished up.

As 10 o'clock rolled around Lilly had gotten more and more nervous. She had changed her white dress into a conservative black sparkly off the shoulder top, tight deep blue jeans and a pair of knee high black boots. Severus complimented her on her outfit choice but didn't realise she chose that particular look because her mother, the Queen, despised jeans and boots, especially on a girl. Lilly smiled secretly as they waited at the door to the castle. She was nervous, she hadn't seen her mother in over two years, and had no real interest in doing so. But she had her fingers crossed that everything went well and she would be allowed to stay at Hogwarts, with her long lost father. Both Lilly and Severus watched as a pearly carriage pulled by four snow white unicorns came out of the clouds. It stopped by the castle entrance and the door opened, a pale foot with a silver heel appeared first, then before them stood Lilly's mother. The Queen of Ayrliah.

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	7. Home

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**~**

Both Lilly and Severus watched as a pearly carriage pulled by four snow white unicorns came out of the clouds. It stopped by the castle entrance and the door opened, a pale foot with a silver heel appeared first, then before them stood Lilly's mother. The Queen of Ayrliah.

**~**

Snape directed them to a room where they could sit and poured the queen a drink. She hadn't said a lot, but the disappointment at her daughter at was very obvious. Lilly hadn't said anything, she just sat stiffly, staring at a painting of a forest scene on the wall. Cliantha was the first to speak, and even then the other two could easily tell it was reluctantly.

"Amarylis, where have you been? And how, of all the places, did you end up here?" Her mother's voice, though musical, was clipped.

"Here there and everywhere." Lilly spoke softly, scared of her mother. Snape stood back, letting them talk.

"That doesn't fully answer my question. How did you know to come here?" Cliantha paused briefly, staring her young daughter in the eye. Lilly didn't flinch, but blocked up her mind so her mother wouldn't be able to read it.

"I didn't know to come here exactly, but I had a rough idea of where to go. It was an accident ending...ending up here. A good accident." Lilly emphasised the word 'good' hoping her mother would get the point.

_Lilly had gone to the small hotel her mother had stayed at all those years ago. She had asked the man at the counter if he kept customer records. They did, but he wasn't going to give them to a little girl. Through her compulsion she convinced the guy to give her the details. She had to ask a lot of people to give her a rough idea of where the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was. Luckily she was very persuasive. She had finally worked out where to head to find the castle just days before her eleventh birthday. A few days later, she left for the hidden away castle._

Cliantha frowned at her daughter. As if ending up here was a good thing. She started to say something but shut her mouth. She watched in interest as Severus smiled at Lilly, who nodded at him, as if they were having a mental conversation. The Queen had always known her youngest child was very powerful, very capable of projecting thoughts, picking up emotions and reading the minds of those she was related to. Fortunately the Queen was very adept at shutting her mind down so Lilly couldn't read it. But there wasn't a lot she could do about the emotions; the child would be able to read them easily no matter what she done. Cliantha thought for a long while; the man clearly adored the girl, and she adored him too, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was just Lilly's charms. She had nearly always been able to make people like her, until her confidence was shattered.

_The Queen sat on her throne, her husband, the King, sat next to her. They watched as a healer bought their daughter to them; she had been stabbed in the ribs while getting an ice cream at the corner shop. They believed Lilly had only been waiting patiently when a strange man came up, believing her to be the reincarnation of the devil and sliding a knife out and cutting the girl. He had been aiming for the heart, but luckily he had missed. Lilly nearly died though; the magic in the enchanted knife infected her blood and she spent days in a comatose state. No one was fully certain what had exactly happened, they only knew bits of it as Lilly had modified the memory as soon as she woke to stop the pain. For that day onward Lilly had never been her full charming self, instead she became shy and spent more time alone. _

Cliantha turned her attention back to the two others in the room. Severus had briefly hugged the girl, whispering something in her ear, causing Lilly to smile, lighting up her face. Cliantha stared in shock, she hadn't remembered how beautiful her girl was, especially in her natural form. Cliantha cleared her throat, getting the attention back to herself.

"Lilly, would you mind waiting outside a moment?" Lilly begun to shake her head, but she sighed and left the room, her heels of her boots clicking quickly as she walked out very smoothly.

Severus turned to the beautiful woman in front of him. She raised and eyebrow at him but didn't say anything. Neither of them really remember the other, or anything from the one night they had shared together. And neither of them knew what to say.

"I want my daughter to come home. Tonight." Cliantha demanded. Severus raised an eyebrow

"We both know she doesn't want to go back. And she doesn't consider that place home." He sneered. This woman wasn't really like the short memory he had. Though, he was under the influence at the time.

"I don't care what she wants." Cliantha snapped, unable to believe how this man was speaking to her. To royalty. Snape muttered something under his breath, Cliantha thought it sounded like 'that's obvious'. She stared him down. Then gave a short laugh.

"What would you do with her? She's just a kid. A kid you don't know."

"I wonder why that is. Would have been nice to know I have a kid"

Cliantha just stared. He was right.

"Well you didn't need to. I was doing a fine job raising her on my own." She regretted the words as soon as they came out. She knew she wasn't the best mother in the world. But it was hard to be a good mother and a good Queen. Snape smirked.

"You did such a good job the girl runs away from home, hides her true appearance, is traumatized about something in her past, and has incredible powers but is confused and afraid of them. Nice job." Severus wanted to shut up, but the words had just come out. He hadn't meant to be so brutally honest, but this woman really irritated him, it was best he told her it truthfully. Cliantha put her head in her hands; secretly she used her magic to stop the tears in her eyes from overflowing. She had been a bad mother, especially to her youngest daughter. She slowly lifted her head back up.

"What do you suggest I do with her then?" She almost pleaded, but refrained from doing so. Snape sighed.

"Let her live here with me. She can attend the school after the holidays and be with children her own age. She can learn how to control her magic. And I can get to know her." He lowered the tone of his voice, hoping Cliantha would let him keep his child. "But you should ask her what she wants. You can't force her to do things your way all the time. She wants to stay here." Cliantha sighed, the thought of losing her daughter made her want to cry but at the same time be happy. She was under a lot of pressure from her people, who thought her incapable of finding her own child and thus declaring her unable to run a kingdom. And Lilly would benefit from going to this school; she might finally make friends and learn to control her magic. But she didn't want to lose her kid. She was confused as to what to do.

Lilly entered the room. Outside, she had sat on the ground, making a trio of birds perform ticks in the air. She was relatively bored and both the adults had blocked their minds so she couldn't know what was going on. She walked in and read the emotions of the two adults. Severus was remarkably happy, her mother was slightly sad and guilty, but there was an underlying feeling of relief and happiness under it all. She neatly sat on the edge of the sofa, nearly bursting with anticipation.

"So? What's happening to me?" She eagerly asked, her fingers still crossed behind her back. Severus smiled, letting Cliantha talk.

"You have a choice, you can either..."  
"Stay here." Lilly interrupted, not even bothering to hear the rest of the question. She put her arms around her father, smiling at him. She returned the embrace, finally very happy at how everything was working out. Cliantha stood to leave, and the two followed her. Lilly thought she seen a tear in her mother's eyes, but as soon as she blinked it was gone.

Snape hung back as the girls arranged what to do about Lilly's stuff, finally agreeing on using a teleportation mirror to transfer the things over. Severus had never heard of one of these, but Lilly seemed to know how to work it, and so Cliantha arranged for one to be there in a few hours. He just stared in amazement as Cliantha got into her carriage and indicated for her driver to start leaving. She hadn't even said goodbye. Lilly however, didn't seem to care much. Instead she skipped around happily, feeling free for the first time in forever.

"Lilly, don't you care your mother never even said goodbye?" Lilly laughed.

"She was glad to be rid of me. She was only acting like she wanted me back. In truth she is ashamed of me, I was the evidence she had broken her bond with my father and slept with another man. Guess she's glad I'm gone." He just shook his head in amusement as they walked back to their home together.

Back in her room, Severus looked around at the plain deep green walls. Lilly sat on the bed, humming. She had, without realising it, changed the colour of her duvet to a light rose pink. He laughed at the sight.

"You can decorate however you want." Lilly smiled, looking around the walls, secretly planning.

"Can I still live here when school starts?" Severus nodded, watching as she changed the walls to a moving picture of an early morning sky. It was pink and blue, with soft clouds lazily moving along it. He left her to her decorating as he explained they would have to get her a wand. She stopped and looked at him fearfully. She didn't want a wand; they were used to direct ones powers, and her powers were already amazingly strong, she didn't want to see what would happen. Snape insisted she would get one in the morning. She began to complain but stopped as a small silver mirror on the side table began to glow purple. Her belongings were arriving.

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	8. Pearlescent

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**~**

He left her to her decorating as he explained they would have to get her a wand. She stopped and looked at him fearfully. She didn't want a wand; they were used to direct ones powers, and her powers were already amazingly strong, she didn't want to see what would happen. Snape insisted she would get one in the morning. She began to complain but stopped as a small silver mirror on the side table began to glow purple. Her belongings were arriving.

**~**

Severus watched in amazement as tiny objects appeared to be shooting out of the mirror. Lilly laughed at his expression as she caught her miniature possessions before silently casting a spell to end their shrunken stage. She began sending her clothes in the wardrobe and grinned toward her father, who was still looking rather confused.

"You don't have to watch. I'm fully capable of doing this alone." Snape nodded and left the room. Lilly continued, marvelling at all the clothes and her favourite things she had left behind. Things she had really missed at times.

By the time dinner came around Severus felt very curious as to what Lilly had been doing all afternoon. He stepped into the room looking around. Lilly was lying on a fluffy soft pink duvet reading a book. All around her the room was in various shades of pink and white. Long white gossamer curtains blew gently in the breeze that appeared to come from her large bay windows. The sunny day outside was charmed to be there and it made the room lighter. Severus couldn't believe his eyes, his quarters had always been dark and small, but just changing the colours had made the room look larger and airy. Lilly rolled over smiling. She made the book float over to her nightstand and a brush on the floor float over to her vanity table she had gotten from home. He noticed the table was already covered in sparkling jewellery various girly products he didn't recognise. Lilly noticed him roll his eyes as they went to the dinner table. She had only been living with him for a short time, but it already felt like, and looked like years.

While they ate, Severus informed Lilly of what they would be doing in the morning. She began to protest but he cut in quickly.

"If you want to go to school here you will have to use a wand. You will also need books and robes. There are other little things too, so it may take us a while." Lily rolled her eyes but didn't bother complaining. He smiled and took that as a sign she would come peacefully. "And, if you manage to behave and not complain we might look into getting you a pet." Lilly nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement.

"Like a cute little kitten? I always wanted a cat, they are so cute and fluffy..." her eyes gained a dreamy faraway look. He chuckled.

"Yes, if you want. But you have to behave, and no complaints." Lilly nodded absent-mindedly as she cleaned the dishes with a wave of her hand, floating them to get them back where they belonged.

Lilly hovered over her father's shoulder as he wrote a list of things to buy while they were shopping. She smiled as she recognised some herbs, he sighed and turned around.

"Is there something you want?" he almost snapped, unused to having a kid. She grinned and tilted her head slightly.

"Nope. What do you need the asphodel and the moondew for?"

"Potions." He didn't bother explaining further, thinking she wouldn't know anything about potions or herbs.

"Ooh, I like potions. And herbology. And caring for animals. They were my best classes. I wasn't so good at healing and flying." Snape looked at her confused.

"How old were you when you started learning this?" Lilly shrugged not really caring to answer that question. She picked a book off the shelf, and studied the cover. She held it up to Severus.

"May I read this?"

"Magical Mediterranean Water-Plants and Their Properties. Yes, you may if you want." He nodded once and turned his attention back to the list. She hugged him before heading off to her room. He checked on her an hour later and she was asleep with the book open beside her. He shifted the book, kissed her head and left quietly.

Once again Lilly was awake well before Severus. She had already showered, dressed and made breakfast before he walked in. He outlined their plans for the day as they ate but Lilly didn't pay any attention. She was still very nervous about getting a wand. He sighed, not knowing what to do, and hoping she would be alright with a wand. He thought she might be fine, as wandless magic was generally harder for a wizard to master, but then, it was possible that she could have a challenge ahead of her with a wand. They both got ready to leave in silence and Severus found himself crossing his fingers as they travelled to Diagon Alley.

Lilly tried to be patient as they searched for books in the bookstore. She tried not to wander away as they looked for potions ingredients. She didn't say anything as she was measured for the robes, which in her opinion, were very ugly. She was however getting very worried. It was the second to last place they were going to, with getting a kitten as the last thing. As they walked into Ollivander's she couldn't help but marvel at how many wands were there. Severus exchanged a few words with the wand maker but she didn't listen. She hardly noticed anything around her until a wand was pushed into her hand.

"Wave it around." She nodded and flicked her wrist gently. A huge burst of wind rushed through the store. Wands fell to the floor, a bird fluttered and the two men fell over. Lilly quickly returned the wand to Mr. Ollivander who handed her another one. She waved this one even more gently but a great serpent of fire burst from the time. She shrieked and let the wand fall to the floor, the fire disappearing as soon as she released the wand. She barely moved her wrist with the next one and yet a huge explosion came from the tip. She wanted to cry, deep inside she knew none of these wands would work with her.

Time after time she would only need to touch a wand and barely move for something bad to happen. Countless floods, fires and tornados went through the shop. Countless times one of the males would wave their own wand to repair the damage. Lilly wanted to give up. It was hopeless. She couldn't work a wand. She gingerly waved another wand, sighing as another wind storm rippled through. She was getting sick of everything. _DSeverus, can we please go? _ Lilly didn't quite know if she would be allowed to call him dad yet. He sighed, not wanting to give up but not wanting Lilly to get upset.

He began to pick up a few of the wands that hadn't been put away yet. Ollivander helped him and they talked quietly. Lilly didn't bother to help, instead looking at her feet. She didn't want another disaster. She shifted closer to the window when she kicked a wand with the toe of her boot. Absently she picked it up and handed it to Mr. Ollivander. He and Severus both looked at her in shock. Ollivander handed her the wand back and she flicked her wrist gently. Almost instantly a silver light came out of the tip and swirled through the air around her. Severus smiled and the wand maker muttered something unintelligible under his breath. As he rang up the purchase he stared curiously at Lilly. She tried to be polite and ignore but failed, snapping out a hasty 'what?'

"It's just, this wand. It's been here for twelve years. No one who has come through the door has ever made it do anything. And here you are, with this wand being the only to agree with you." Lilly glanced down at the smooth wand in her hand. As she watched it, it glowed and then turned from a milky brown colour to a pale grey and then finally to a pearlescent white. She smiled, realising she now had a wand. She began to get excited and wanted to try out some magic, but she didn't know how to use a wand.

Snape looked at the shopkeeper, asking quietly what the wand was made of that had made it so dangerous. Ollivander frowned.

"It's 12 inches, made from a cherry tree and a unicorn hair. I don't know why it is that wand doesn't like people." He paused, looking over at Lilly with the pearly wand in her hand. "What...what did you do?" Amazed, he stared at the wand. Lilly twirled it delicately, carefully focusing her mind on not using any magic. Lily shrugged a shoulder. Ollivander turned back toward her father.

"I've always thought that the core was faulty, like there was something wrong with the unicorn it came from." Snape smirked.

"Is there any way to tell which unicorn the hair was from?" Lilly looked up as Severus spoke, they both wondered if the wand was safe.

"I can remember where it came from. A pale blue unicorn, very rare, very powerful. Only ever seen one in my whole life. I thought it would make a very strong wand. Only managed to get one hair from it though. It's probably for the best." He looked at the wand again. Lilly thought about her own unicorn.

"Did the unicorn have a very light swirly half-moon on its hindquarters? And an ice blue gem at the base of its horn?" her voice rang through the quiet room. She knew just how rare a blue unicorn was. Ollivander seemed stunned as he nodded, unable to speak.

"Oh, that's Peri." Lilly was pleased that the core of her wand came from her unicorn. Severus sent her a questioning look.

"My bonded unicorn." She stated, as if it were obvious. Both the men talked at the same time.

"You have a bonded unicorn?"

"Peri? A blue unicorn?" Lilly nodded.

"Periwinkle Moon has been bonded to me since I was born. I've been living with him close by since I can remember. Except, well at the moment as he is off with another unicorn." She sighed sadly. She missed him. "And yes, he is blue. Do you think it was his hair that is in this wand?" Ollivander nodded. Severus quietly thought about what else she hadn't told him about what happened while she was a runaway.

"I'm certain that it was. It explains why you are the only one able to use this wand. Treat it well." Ollivander didn't say anything else to her and as Severus paid she tucked it in the pocket of her thick black jacket.

They walked out of the shop, into the warm sun outside. Lilly turned, smiling widely, her eyes a sparkling green colour.  
"Now can I get a kitten?"

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	9. One Moment

**Disclaimer: I still don't own any of J.K Rowlings characters. **

**Thanks to Jenea Cappon, Sweetie Cherrie and Sadies for your reviews! **

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**~**

They walked out of the shop, into the warm sun outside. Lilly turned, smiling widely, her eyes a sparkling green colour.  
"Now can I get a kitten?"

**~**

Severus rolled his eyes as Lilly dashed off to the pet store. He let her go ahead and took his time getting to the shop. As soon as he opened the door he was blasted by the hooting of owls, meowing of cats and the occasional croak of a toad. He looked around but couldn't see Lilly at all. He wandered around a bit, looking at the animals; very thankful Lilly didn't want a toad. He didn't particularly like toads.

Lilly walked around, looking at all the animals. She admired some sleek dark owls, jumped when a toad croaked right next to her and finally smiled when she found the cats. There were so many of every different colour she didn't know which one to choose. She watched them for a while, until she got a surprise when someone put their hand on her shoulder. She turned quickly, relaxing when she realised it was her father. Lilly turned her attention back to the cats and held her hand out toward them. Instantly half a dozen of them raced over. Scared, she backed away. She nearly tripped over a small black and white kitten sitting on the floor. The kitten looked up at her, its emerald eyes staring into hers. It began to purr and rub around Lilly's legs. She bent down and picked up the young cat, running her hand through its silky semi-long fur. She looked into the cats face, running a finger down the white blaze that ran the length of its nose.

"I want this one." She held the kitten out toward Severus, who patted it once.

"It's a girl." An old woman said behind them very suddenly. Both Lilly and Severus jumped. Lilly smiled and patted her kitten, thinking up names for it. The old woman accepted the money for the cat and she handed Snape a collar. He gave her a questioning look.

"You'll need it for that cat, dear. It doesn't meow or make any sound like the other cats. The bell on the collar might help you to not stand on her in the dark." Severus smiled and thanked her, and put the collar on the cat. Lilly smiled brightly and thanked the woman without being prompted. Severus was pleased to see she had good manners.

"Have you thought of a name?" He asked her as they left the store. She nodded.

"I was thinking Layla." He nodded and looked down at the cat she held in her arms.

"It suits her." He began to lead her down the street to a small café. Lilly looked at him, raising one eyebrow delicately.

"Where are we going? I thought getting a kitten was the last thing to do."

"I thought we would grab a bite to eat before we headed back. Its well into the afternoon. Are you not hungry?" Lilly shrugged, she wasn't hungry. She was hardly ever hungry. She wasn't used to this eating three meals a day thing; while she was on the run she ate once a day at the most. She had never been a particularly hungry kid.

Still, she allowed him to lead her into the cosy cafe. He ordered them some lunch and she sat near the window with Layla on her knee, both of them looking out. Severus tried to see what they were looking at but all he could see out the window was a few people walking past. He glanced back at Lilly who was watching someone outside. He couldn't work out who it was, but judging by the disapproving look Lilly sent them, she must have not liked them. Then he recognised who Lilly was looking at. None other than his godson - Draco Malfoy.

Draco looked at the dark haired girl in the window of the cafe. He smirked at the little cat sitting on her knee. He then frowned at the girl. She sent back a disapproving look and turned away. He looked at who she was with, and saw none other than his godfather, Severus Snape.

Lilly sipped at the drink in front of her and noticed Layla curl up on the seat between her and the window. Lilly smiled and looked at Severus. She opened her mouth to speak but he had turned around and was talking to a tall woman with dark hair. She was accompanied by the blond boy who had pulled faces at her. Severus invited them to join her and to Lilly's dismay they accepted. Severus introduced her to Narcissa Malfoy who shook her hand gently and smiled down at her, saying something quietly to Severus. Narcissa sat next to Severus and motioned for the boy to sit next to Lilly. Lilly pulled as far away from him as possible, making both the adults laugh slightly.

"Lilly, this is Draco Malfoy. My godson. Draco, this is Lilly, my daughter. The two of you will be in the same year so I hope you can get along." Severus stated, then turned to Narcissa, the two of the talking quietly about something. Lilly noticed every so often Narcissa would look towards her, so Lilly figured they were talking about her. Draco had sat down next to her but hadn't said anything. And she had no real interest in talking to the rude boy who had pulled faces at her.

Draco couldn't believe it. Severus had a child?! He wanted to ask about it but his mother had already captured his godfathers' attention. Slowly he turned to look at the girl beside him. She was staring down at her hot chocolate. He cleared his throat softly. She didn't even look up. Draco grinned, a challenge had arisen.

Lilly focused on her hot chocolate so she wouldn't look up at the guy beside her. She cleared her mind and focused on the people nearest her. _Lilly, very beautiful. Severus is lucky to have her. I wonder if she and Draco would ever get together. That would be sweet. _Lilly pulled out of Narcissa's mind as the woman turned her thoughts toward wedding dresses and bouquets. Lilly tried reading her father's mind but he had put up the block in his head so she couldn't read anything. That only left the blond guy. She focused her mind.

_Lilly. A flower. Ick. Does she think she is too good to look at me? How stupid. I wonder if my mother would notice if I snuck away. She does seem deeply in conversation. And this day has been rather boring. Not letting me look at that new broom. Who does she think she is? And I hope no one has seen me today, being dragged around by my mother. How embarrassing. Huh, she's laughing. I'll just edge toward the edge of my chair and then when she laughs again I'll make a run for it. _Draco shuffled to the edge of his seat slowly, watching Narcissa the whole time.

_It's not going to work. _Draco jumped in surprise at hearing a musical voice talking in a sing-song tone. He misjudged his landing back on the seat and fell to the floor with a thud. Severus and Narcissa looked at him in surprise. Lilly stood up and offered her hand. _Sorry, didn't realise you would jump so high._ Once again the musical voice entered his mind. He sneered at Lilly but then took the hand and got up. That's when he looked at her properly.

Lilly tried not to laugh as she read Draco's thoughts. It was very easy to hear them, usually it took a lot of focus, but she found reading his mind was nearly natural. She ignored the making fun of her name, knowing full well she could insult his, but rather took interest in listening on his plans to escape. _It's not going to work._ She thought in a whisper to herself. She was shocked to see Draco jump up, as she thought that. Then she realised she must have sent it to his mind. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him as he fell to the floor. She held out a hand and tested the mind messages again. Whispering to herself, _sorry, didn't realise you would jump so high. _He sneered but his expression lead her to believe he had once again heard that comment. As he stood up she found herself taking a good look at the blond in front of her.

He looked up to see dark curls dancing around a porcelain coloured face. A pair of light grey eyes stared into his own, the light making it appear as if her eyes were sparkling and silvery. A lone curl fell in front of her eye and he couldn't stop himself from lifting his other hand and brushing it back behind her ear. He glanced down, still holding her warm small hand in his own. Her light pink lips formed a shy smile. She was beautiful. He couldn't deny that.

The sneer fell very quickly off his face as they looked at each other. His blond hair had been messed up and away from where it had been moments ago and she noticed that in the light some strands seemed to glow silver, whereas others seemed to glow a golden tone. His grey eyes stared into her own and she noticed how they changed to appear lighter and warmer. She smiled as his hand gently pushed the stray hair away from her face. She smiled and watched as his lips pulled back to reflect her smile. She could feel the warmth radiating from his hand that was still holding on. He was very good looking; handsome even. She couldn't deny that.

Then they pulled away. He smirked at her as he took his seat once more. She looked down at her hot chocolate once more, ignoring the blond next to her. The moment had passed. Neither of them knew what had come over them. But both knew they could never let it happen again.

"Lilly, I have invited your father, and of course yourself to the annual midsummer ball I always host." Narcissa smiled at the quiet girl. "Anyway, I hope you will come as Draco's date for the evening." Lilly and Draco both stared at her.

A date? With him?!

A date? With her?!

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**Let me know what you think!!**


	10. Dresses, dates and dragons

**Ooh! Two chapters in one day! Yay!!! Enjoy, the next chapter won't be up until Tuesday here in New Zealand. (It is Sunday). **

**Disclaimer remains the same. **

**Thanks to: Jenae Cappoen for her review. And to The Fabled Crazy One for their reviews...I believe they are the one behind all the reviews with various names. Thank you all the same.**

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**~**

"Lilly, I have invited your father, and of course yourself to the annual midsummer ball I always host." Narcissa smiled at the quiet girl. "Anyway I hope you will come as Draco's date for the evening." Lilly and Draco both stared at her.

A date? With him?!

A date? With her?!

**~**

Lilly sat in her room, on her bed. Sulking. She had tried to object to being Draco's date for this dance but Severus wouldn't have a word of it. He had silenced her and hurriedly apologized as he dragged Lilly behind him. And so she had sat on her bed sulking. She didn't want to go to this dance. Not at all. And certainly not with HIM. _It's not fair. Draco just smirked and got away with that. Even though he was complaining in his mind. Stupid smirking idiot. He doesn't want me to go either. _Lilly began to pace around, contemplating what to do. Then it hit her. _He doesn't want me there. So I shall go. That will wipe the smirk of his face. _Satisfied, Lilly sat by her window, staring out into the forest one last time before she went to bed for the night.

Draco hadn't bothered complaining like Lilly did. He already knew it would get them nowhere. Instead he complained in his head, knowing perfectly well Lilly could hear him. He was shocked to feel a little guilty about it but he noticed Lilly didn't once look upset. She did however look very pissed off, even as Severus pulled her away. Draco didn't honestly think it would be that bad; sure he would be with a girl he didn't know or like that much but she was very pretty. Maybe Pansy would be there, then she would finally get the hint.

He didn't know why it was that when he thought of Lilly a warm happy feeling flowed through him, but he knew that it wasn't normal. He was a Malfoy; he had a reputation to uphold. And falling for some new girl was not the way to keep it. He did realise however that Lilly really didn't want to go to the dance. He thought with a smile if she didn't end up going he would be happy. But then, his mother would try to get him a new date. And he did not want another of these matchups. He hid away in his green and silver room as soon as he was back at the manor.

He would have to see her eventually. He knew it. They would both be at school together in the new school year. He began to think of all the fun she could have reading the minds of everyone. Then he realised how useful she would be to him. Draco did not want her to end up friends with Potty, the mudblood and the orange one. He would be sure to play nice, even if only to get her on his side.

**~**

The new day welcomed a brilliant bright sunrise. Lilly had awoken before the sun had risen and had sat up in the astronomy tower watching it. She realised how big the castle truly was when she had tried to find a high point to see the sun. Then she gave up and used her normal way of traveling. She checked a map of the school that had been given to her and focused on the tower in her mind. A bright burst of ice blue sparkles came from all around her and she opened her eyes as the sparkled faded. She had 'orbed' all the way to the tower. She had allowed herself a moment of happiness at the magic working. Orbing was difficult work and generally easier if she knew where she was going. It also took a lot of concentration, a thing that sometimes she lacked.

**~**

Severus had awoken while Lilly was in the tower. He had noticed how quiet it was for once and looked into the main rooms. Lilly was absent, so he figured she was still asleep. However, even after he had showered and was dressed, Lilly still hadn't made an appearance. Severus hoped she wasn't still sulking. He poked his head into her room, but all was empty. Alarmed he called out to her in his mind. But no reply came. He turned to begin pacing, hoping she hadn't run away.

Lilly heard her name being called in her head. She sighed and with a last glance at the sun, she orbed down to the dungeons once more.

"Yes?" She asked, the sparkles around her swirling and beginning to fade. Severus turned at the sound of her voice and jumped.

"Lilly? What? How?" Lilly laughed, having never seen her father speechless before. He shook his head; clearly they had a lot to learn about each other.

"What was that?" He was curious. And had no intentions of hiding it.

"That's, well what I call orbing. It has a long boring name. But orbing will do." She smiled cheekily. He nodded.

"And how does it work exactly?" Lilly looked at him, confused.

"Uh, I form an orb shape of light around me thinking of where I want to go and...BAM! I appear there." She resisted the urge to roll her eyes or stick out her tongue. To her, the answer was pretty obvious.

"Is that normal for...you?" He paused, unsure what to call her exactly. She nodded, thinking.

"Yeah. Pretty much. But I added the sparkles. Looks good, and announces my arrival." She gave him that brilliant smile again. "Don't you wizards have a way of transporting form one place to another? It's very useful." Severus nodded, wondering how she managed to travel through the castle like that.

"It's called apparition. It's very similar. Without all the light shows I guess. But it can't be done on the grounds." Lilly shrugged a shoulder, but didn't offer her thoughts. She let Severus wonder out loud for a while before she walked out of the room.

He hadn't even noticed her leaving, but when he did discover he was talking to himself he began to worry again. Then he noticed the door to her room was ajar. He stuck his head in to see dresses on every possible surface of her room. She however remained invisible.

"Lilly?" She poked her head out from underneath a pile of clothes on the floor. "What are you doing?" Lilly shrugged, standing up.

"I didn't bother to sort my wardrobe, and now that I want something I can't find it." She glanced at the clothes around her and grinned. Then she dropped her expression and turned back to her father. "Why did you sound so...scared when you called my name before?" He looked away.

"I thought...that you might have run away." He rushed the last few words. Lilly laughed.

"Nope. Got a dance to go to don't I?" Snape nodded, wondering what had changed her mind. She just smiled as she picked up a bubblegum pink dress before dropping it again.

"What changed your mind? And where exactly were you?" He asked, softly, hoping she hadn't been doing anything dangerous. But Lilly just smiled and disappeared into the clothing piles. How she fitted so much clothing in that small space was questionable. But he knew she wouldn't answer that, she had probably just done some Ayrliann spell.

Many piles of clothes and dozens of shoes later Lilly had found the dress she wanted, and after a quick colour alteration she was ready for the dance. Unfortunately the dance was still a while away so she drummed her fingers on a desk. She glanced around. An object going around the castle, past her window, drew her attention towards it.

A long charcoal grey log with shiny pointed spikes brushed past the window. A shiver ran down her spine. She thought of the forest and orbed her way over there.

She opened her eyes and watched as the sparkles around her dissolved into the cold forest air. The sun barely showed through the tall trees and she blinked to clear her vision. She ran her hands over the white t-shirt she had put on, changing it to a halter neck, exposing her back to the cool air. Trying hard not to think about the pain she focused her mind on the two marks on her back, tensing as she felt the wings pull out from her shoulder blades. She glanced back at them, noting the injured one had healed more, nearly fully back to shape, but was rough around the edges. She was unsure as to how to heal it; healing the light pearly wings took a lot of energy and magic, it was something not taught to anyone under 15.

She shook her wings gently, noting with a smile that the injured one still worked, nearly perfectly. And from her position on a tree stump, she launched herself into the air and began to fly upwards.

Focusing intently on avoiding the trees, she failed to see the dark haired man watching from the window. Or the stone cold dragon watching from the castle roof. She fluttered down to a top branch on one of the taller pine trees. Her light weight allowed her to sit on the weak branches; however a spell was required to stop her blowing away in the breeze like a leaf. Using her hand to protect her from the sun, she glanced around. Looking for the all too familiar charcoal beast.

She didn't notice any difference in the air as the dragon moved closer. She was so focused she didn't notice anything until she zoomed her eyesight on the man in the window; her father, with a look of utter despair on his face. She looked up in time to see a spike racing towards her head. The world swirled and blackened as she fell towards the ground.

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**Push the green button to let me know what you think of my cliffhanger....What has happened to Lilly???**


	11. Shock and horror

**As promised, the next chapter! This one is a bit different that the other ones, and I think it is easy to tell why. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own most of this.**

**Thanks to my reviewers, I love reading them and hearing other peoples opinions. Keep them coming!**

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**~**

She didn't notice any difference in the air as the dragon moved closer. She was so focused she didn't notice anything until she zoomed her eyesight on the man in the window; her father, with a look of utter despair on his face. She looked up in time to see a spike racing towards her head. The world swirled and blackened as she fell towards the ground.

**~**

_Where am I? I can't be lost! Someone? Is anyone there? Hello? Someone help me!_

I couldn't tell where I was. Or anything. I looked around, my dark curls brushing against my face, the only darkness in the brighness of the light, everything was bright. Too bright. Light bounced off everything and anything, distorting all the shapes around me. I reached for something but my hand went through it. I squinted and the world began to darken.

The scent of blood and sweat filled the air. The scene around me swirled and changed. A stone cold hall surrounded me. heavy oak doors came out of the walls, one at each end of the hall. Dank square rooms formed next to the halls, doors of bars appeared, seperating the hall from the tiny cells. I was in a prison.

Guards appeared out of the air, talking quickly and sharply to one dressed neatly in uniform, the medals on his chest shining, even without any light. A tall stocky man walked through the door at the end of the hall, a chain held in his hand. He pulled it along. A small girl, hardly more than four years whimpered as the chains around her wrists and ankles were pulled tight. Her dark hair hung limply as she looked past the guards. Her deep brown eyes stared into mine, changing to the all too familiar shade of green. _She is me. Younger yet still me. _I wanted to help her/me. But I couldn't move.

I watched in disbelief as she/I was shoved into the nearest cell. I found my feet and moved toward her. None of the guards seen me. I ducked to avoid a swinging arm but it sailed right through the tip of my head. That's when I realised I wasn't real. The little me however was. I reached her cell. She smiled up at me and tried to put her hands through the iron bars. A humming of electricity ran through the room and i felt a chill as I watched the younger version of myself get shocked. Her body convulsed as the electrical current flowed through it. I covered my eyes, listening to the electrical hum and the deep baritone of the guards.

"It can't be possible. She is hardly four years old."

"Yet look at her. Dark headed. Ayrliann people are not dark headed. It is a sign of evil."

"You expect me to believe a four year old child burned down a church and killed 15 people."

"Yes."

The electricity stopped and I opened my eyes. Gingerly I looked at little me. She lay slumped on the ground, her body smoldering, her wrist where the cuffs still cut off circulation was cut, blood slowly dripping down her arm to the dirty stone ground. She didn't move at all. I let out a sob.

"See. That would kill a normal person. She is still alive. Listen, you can hear her heart."

I couldn't control my anger at the treatment of my younger self. I turned, swinging my fist at the nearest guard, but as I raised it I noticed the scar on my wrist glowing a bright red. Burning. I watched in disbelief as blood began to come from the wound. The smaller girl began to stir, her now grey eyes looking directly at me as she held her wrist, the blood slowing, with only a few drops landing on her dirty little sack that was being passed as a dress. She stared deep into my eyes, the blood flow from both of us stopping. Her drops on the ground moved. The ones near my feet moved too, and I watched in disbelief as they merged together, a light coming from them. Younger me nodded at me once, and I whispered "we will be okay" as the light surrounded me.

**~**

All the objects around me had disappeared and I was once again in the middle of nowhere. The pain in my wrist had vanished along with everything. Tired, I went to sit down. Amazingly, the ground under me changed, turning into pale lemon sand beneath me. I let some slide through my fingers, the warmth of it flowing through my hand and into my arm. I looked up and watched the sky above turn to a brilliant blue. With a flash I realised I was in a desert. I'd never been in one before. I noticed a camel standing next to a cactus. I rose to head over to it when the ground shook and opened. Unable to stop myself I lurched forward into the hole.

**~**

_Lilly? Lilly? What's happened? Lilly wake up! Come back! Lilly?_

_**~**_

I opened my eyes to see myself surrounded by pale lavender walls. I watched as a blonde girl woke up and looked around the room. She never appeared to see me. But we both noticed the glint of a silver knife. Silver weapons were very powerful; our strongest mages warded them with magic from all the four elements. These made for the best weapons in the world. It also made for very dangerous weapons in the wrong hands.

I couldn't move as the man approached the bed where the girl lay. _Another younger version of me. _The voice in my head sounded bitter. I squeezed my eyes shut as he tackled her. I heard her struggle and couldn't stop tears falling down my face. As the man forced himself upon the young blonde I felt all her pain reflect upon my own body. Suddenly my hands were wrenched away. I tried to shut them, but they remained open, unblinking, like I was a puppet on a string. My head snapped over to look at young Lilly in the bed. The knife was poised above her naked thigh and we both screamed as the magical knife tore through the skin like a knife in butter.

Blood flowed from the cut that ran from the inner thigh to the side of our hip. The man got up and walked out. His tall stocky build seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it. I looked back at the blonde. She closed her eyes as the pain wracked its way through our bodies. Naked, with the remains of a torn nightdress around her she hovered in and out of unconsciousness. I fell to the ground and tried to heal the cut on my leg, but it remained. It was slowly poisoning us. I crawled over to the girl and put my hand gently in the air above the cut. She relaxed a little as I felt the familiar warmth flow from my hand. My own cut healed as hers did. I weakly ran my other hand along the length of the bed, watching as the dress repaired itself and the blood came out of the sheets. Her pale grey eyes opened and stared into mine. She wasn't shocked to see me, but grabbed my ghostly hand and squeezed it as she leaned back against the pillows; the moonlight in the room becoming brighter and brighter until I couldn't stand to open my eyes. I knew at that instant I was back in the in-between state.

**~**

_Lilly? Come on, wake up. Don't leave me. Lilly?_

_**~**_

This time, when the bright light came, I found I wasn't alone. A few meters stood a blonde girl in a pale yellow dress. As if hearing my return she spun around, her hair and dress twirling around her. I smiled widely as I stared into the violet eyes of my childhood friend, Melodia. This is when I knew I was dead.

Melodia had been bound to my brother, with an Ayrliann bond. These were common; we Ayrliann did not marry for anything but love, and our magical bonds meant that once we met our true love we would be theirs forever. But Melodia had disappeared just weeks before her birthday, the day she would get engaged to Lachen. And I feared that my oldest brother, Silvanus, had something to do with her disappearance. If Lachen married Melodia before Silvanus got married, then Lachen would become next in line to take the throne. Silvanus didn't have a bonded mate. Neither did I, but I was young. And I didn't even know if I would find true love and be bonded, I was only a half blood.

I hugged Melodia, she smiled at me. Seeing her confirmed my worst fears; my best friend was dead. And my brother was doomed to be alone for his life. She lead me through the light and I watched in amazement as the scene changed into a brilliant garden. We sat on a beautiful oak seat surrounded by roses. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what do to. Melodia broke the silence.

"Lilly, it's been too long. I've been watching you though." She looked sad. I tried really hard not to cry.

"Mel, I've missed you. What happened? Where did you go? How did you end up here?" She looked down at her hands."Mel?"

"Sorry Lilly. I...Silvanus did this. He weakened my bond and...left me to this dragon." She shrugged a shoulder. "And I guess I ended up here."

"A dragon?" I thought of what I had seen flying past the castle. And Severus had told me he had seen a dragon when he found me.

"It's too much of a coincidence for the dragon to be there everytime we die." I raised an eyebrow.

"You've been here before." I shook my head. Melodia nodded.

"When you were in the forest. Before that dark haired man took you to that castle." I thought about that for a moment.

"He's my father." Melodia raised an eyebrow at me before smiling and telling me it was awesome. She continued to talk about something but I couldn't really make out what she was saying. I felt like I was being pulled away.

"Melodia. How did I get back the first time?" She shrugged.

"Your injuries were only broken bones. I guess you healed them automatically."

"Why did you not go back? We...or rather Ayrliann people can't be killed easily; we are only supposed to die of old age. How come you haven't gone back? You are bonded and everything, that is supposed to pull you back to life. And...how come I'm here again?" I inhaled sharply as the pain ran through me and I felt as though I was being pulled again. Melodia smiled.

"I think you are on your way to go back." I shook my head.

"How?"

"Well I can't help but notice you have bonded with someone." She pointed at my ankle. Just below it was a crescent moon with a many pointed star in the middle. All my life they had been just black outlines, but now the moon was gold and the star shone silver. I brushed my fingers over my ankle, wondering who I was bonded with. I felt the tugging again. I looked at my best friend, tears in my eyes.

"It's time for you to go. I'll always be here, watching over you Lilly. You'll hear me sometimes." I hugged her, and tried to speak, but the tugging motion began and Melodia and the garden swirled until they disappeared.

_Lilly? Oh, please, please wake up Lilly. Don't be dead. Please don't let her be dead. Lilly? Come on, Lilly.

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_**This chapter is my favourite one I have written so far. Please tell me what you think, and which one is your favourite.**_  
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	12. Lilly blooms

**I apologise for this taking so long to be up loaded. But I've got two weeks holidays so more chapters should show up more often!**

**Disclaimer remains the same.**

**Thanks to my beta readers and my reviewers, you guys are awesome!**

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**~**

She didn't notice any difference in the air as the dragon moved closer. She was so focused she didn't notice anything until she zoomed her eyesight on the man in the window; her father, with a look of utter despair on his face. She looked up in time to see a spike racing towards her head. The world swirled and blackened as she fell towards the ground.

**~**

Severus watched in amusement as Lily flew up to the high branches of a tree. He was confused as to why she was out there but he didn't question it. Until the dragon flew over toward her. He recognised it as the dragon that was there the day he found Lilly. He couldn't do anything but watch as the stone grey dragon swung his spiked tail towards the girl. Severus couldn't stop it from happening. But he cast a cushioning charm, which was hopefully in time to stop her from being killed by falling. Again. The dragon roared, tree's trembling in the forest beneath it.

From Hagrid's hut came Albus Dumbledore and Hagrid himself. Albus let out a powerful stunning spell and the dragon fell to the ground. Clearly, it appeared to be stronger than it actually was. Severus headed down toward the men. A binding spell held the dragon down as Hagrid picked up the girl. Lilly was bruised and broken. And there was no way a person could live with her injuries. A pale blue unicorn stood in the trees. Watching. It lowered its head at the sight of its fallen friend. Then neatly it followed the two men, who didn't say anything at the sight of the beautiful unicorn.

In the hospital wing Madame Pomfrey looked over Lilly, noting that the girl's heart wasn't beating. Severus saw the look on the nurse's face and strode out of the room. He had only just gotten a daughter, and now she was taken away from him. He stormed down into the dungeons wanting to be left alone. Peeves floated by and went to throw something at him, but the look on Snape's face stopped him. Severus sat down on the couch. He didn't know what to do. Dumbledore and Hagrid were dealing with the dragon. Pomfrey was dealing with his daughter. And he couldn't deal with the grief. He put his head in his hands, willing himself not to cry. He had only known her a short time, yet she left a strong impression.

**~**

Draco Malfoy wandered through the gardens. He was bored and his ankle hurt. A bruise had randomly shown up just under his ankle and he could not get rid of it. Stopping at a seat he slipped his shoe and sock off, looking at the bruise. It had been rubbing on his shoe and had doubled in size. Squinting, he tried to figure out what the shape was. It looked like a star or a circle with many lines coming from it. Either way, it was a weird shape. He leaned back on the seat, looking at the flowers. His mother took a great pride in the gardens and always ensured they looked beautiful. His gaze landed on a single white flower lying on the ground. A lily. He went over to pick it up, but as soon as his fingers touched the petals a surge of images raced through his head.

Everything was bright. Then it all changed to dark. Walls appeared around him. A group of men stood around talking. A tall heavy set man entered, dragging a young child in chains. The deep black curls hung limp on her head and Draco couldn't help thinking how much she looked like the girl who had been on his mind nearly every minute since he met her. Lilly. He watched as the girl got shocked by thousands of volts of electricity and his eyes shot open. The images stopped immediately. Draco didn't know what to do. His parents were away for the day. Minus the house-elves, the house was empty. There was only one person he could talk to. He went back inside, putting the shoe back on as he headed toward the fire to take the floo to Hogwarts.

**~**

Severus looked up in time to see his godson step out of the fire. Draco gave one look at him and guessed something was wrong.

"What has happened?" Snape shook his head, unable to speak. He hadn't, and wouldn't show any tears.

"Lilly?" Severus nodded.

"She's...attacked...dragon...badly injured...dead." Severus stumbled over the words, unable to form a legible sentence. Draco turned and headed out of the dungeons. Severus went to ask where he was going, but instinct told him Draco was headed for the hospital wing. With a sigh he followed suit. Wondering why Draco would, all of a sudden, care.

**~**

Lilly lay on the bed. A long gash on her head had stopped bleeding and Poppy had washed the blood away. Lilly's eyes remained shut, and her head at an awkward angle. Her body was cold, and bruised. Despite the cushioning charm she had hit several trees on her way to the ground, leaving several cuts on her skin, clothes and wings. The unicorn stood near her bed, its head dipped low. No one felt the need to get rid of it, they left it there to mourn.

Draco burst through the door and headed straight over. He looked down at Lilly's pale unmoving form. He noticed a cut on her wrist beginning to bleed. He opened his eyes wide. He gently brushed a tangled curl away from her eyes, his hand gently grazing her cheek. He put his hand beside her face, gently running his thumb across her cheek. To his surprise her cheek was warm. Her head moved slightly, putting more weight in his hand. He went to pull away, but couldn't move. Severus came up behind him in time to see Lilly's head move, the angle of her neck correcting, the long deep gash on her forehead healing. The three people in the room couldn't help but gasp.

**~**

Albus' last spell seemed to hold the dragon down. He was unsure what to do with it. It was clearly very dangerous, yet a magnificent creature. The beast began to twitch as it shrunk. Its skin paled and the top of its head grew golden hair. Albus kept his wand out as the dragon turned into a tall golden haired man. The man lay on the ground, panting. _A dragon animagi. I should have thought of that. _Albus didn't seem too surprised. The man however looked to be having trouble breathing. Hagrid, who had already taken Lilly up to the castle, picked the man up and with Dumbledore's wand pointed at the blond, walked all the way back to the hospital wing.

Poppy gave them, very reluctantly, a potion to help him breathe. She then told them to get out. She did not want that horrible man in her infirmary. Draco continued to stroke Lilly's cheek, watching the cuts and scrapes slowly heal. Poppy thought she detected a tiny weak heartbeat, but she couldn't be sure.

Severus had wanted to kill the man as soon as he had seen him, but Albus held him back. Instead he summoned a vial of veritaserum from his potions cupboard. He left Draco and the unicorn sitting with Lilly and followed the headmaster to his office.

**~**

Severus slammed the man's head back and tipped the vial down his throat. The man tried to bite him but Snape hit him in the mouth before he could. The blond spat a mouthful of blood at him, and a smirking Severus cleaned it off with a simple wave of a wand. At the sight of the wand the man recoiled a bit. Albus cleared his throat.

"What is your name?"

"Cerberus" He sneered. Severus went close, putting his wand and face close to Cerberus.

"What did you do to Lilly? Why did you do it?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm waiting."

"I was hired. I've been hired to do my masters bidding for nearly eight years. I'm a dragon morpher."

"Why did you attack her? Who is your master?"

"I was told to. And my master, Silvanus, will kill anyone that prevents him from getting rid of Amarylis."

"Who is Silvanus?" Severus noticed behind him Albus was stroking his phoenix, not speaking.

"He is the future king. Long live Prince Silvanus!"

"King? Is he Lilly's brother?" With that question the door burst open and Poppy announced Lilly was awake.

**~**

Draco had been getting more and more hopeful as Lilly healed. But all of a sudden she stopped. And nothing more happened. The unicorn walked over, nudging his shoulder slightly. He moved away, creating room by Lilly's head while still holding her hand. The unicorn leant over her, its horn touching her chest, above her heart. The room felt like it was filling with warmth as the horn of the animal began to glow. The horn tapped her chest, once, twice, three times.

Lilly's body convulsed once and her eyes shot open as she pulled air into her lungs. She sat up and looked at the unicorn to one side, and the blond boy holding her hand in the other. She ran her hand down the nose of the unicorn and smiled at the boy. At Draco. In that instant she realised who her bonded mate was. None other than Draco Malfoy.

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	13. Totally normal

**Disclaimer remains the same.**

**Thanks to The Crazy One for being the only person to date who has reviewed my last chapter. Thanks also to encypher for her reviews**

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**~**

She ran her hand down the nose of the unicorn and smiled at the boy. At Draco. In that instant she realised who her bonded mate was. None other than Draco Malfoy.

**~**

Lilly opened her mouth to speak, but the door opening cut her off. Severus Snape strode into the room, followed by Madame Pomfrey, who seemed to be struggling to keep up. He walked straight over to her. Periwinkle Moon moved next to Draco, who dropped Lilly's hand as Severus took her in his arms.

Finally, Severus let her go, remembering the headmasters request.

"Lilly, we have the man responsible for this. Dumbledore wants to know if you can identify him." Lilly looked at him, very confused.

"Man? It was a dragon."

"A dragon animagi. Well, he called himself a dragon morpher."

"Hmm...okay. What happens to him though? And can you guarantee he won't be able to get me?" Severus nodded.

"I'm not sure what will happen to him. Probably prison. And...do you want to take the unicorn outside?" Lilly looked over at her faithful friend who was allowing Draco to pat him. She nodded once.

"Yeah, I'll take a quick walk first, then see this man. If that's okay?" Severus nodded. Then looked at her with concern.

"Are you sure you are okay?" She nodded and laughed as she climbed off the bed and laid her hand on Periwinkle's neck. Snape just laughed as his daughter walked out of the room, dragging his godson with her.

**~**

Draco took Lilly's hand once more as soon as they were out of the hospital wing. He didn't risk taking it earlier, not knowing how her father would react.

"He won't mind." Lilly's voice made him jump. "I can hear your thoughts." She laughed lightly. He was amazed; only a few hours she had been dead to the world. Yet not she was laughing and talking as though nothing had happened.

They stepped into the courtyard and Lilly nodded and muttered 'yeah' under her breath. _Who are you talking to? _Draco smiled, realising how useful this mind reading could be. Lilly tilted her head forward, indicating the pale blue creature beside her. _You're talking to a horse? _He resisted the urge to say how truly weird that was. _Technically a unicorn. _She returned the thought in her head, enjoying the silence of the school. _How do you talk to the unicorn then? _Lilly rolled her eyes, _the ____s_ame way that I'm talking to you. He just nodded.

Lilly let go of his hand and took a step forward before leaping lightly onto her unicorns back. She turned, patting the pale blue hair behind her. _Coming Draco? _He hesitated. She held out her hand, which he took and before he could blink he was behind her on the unicorn. He opened his mouth to say something but instead watched as the pair of pearly wings sticking out of her back vanished. She hadn't realised they were still visible, and he hadn't noticed they were there. _You're not human, are you? _He didn't want to ask, but couldn't stop himself from doing so. As the unicorn trotted forward, its deep blue hooves leaving the ground, Lilly turned to him.

"No. Not fully." She looked down, partially ashamed. He put his hand under her chin, pushing her head up to look her in the eyes.

"What's wrong with that? Lilly, it's what makes you you." He smiled, watching as she gave a slight smile. She turned her attention back toward the unicorn, directing him around the edge of the castle. Draco looked around and for the first time he noticed they weren't on the ground anymore. _How? How are we in the air? _Lilly smiled, he had sounded a little panicked. _We are riding on the air currents. _Draco rolled his eyes. _Yeah, because this is totally normal. _Lilly gave him a slight smile; to her riding through the air was normal.

They landed close to the forest. She slid to the ground and turned to Draco.

"You don't care I'm not fully human?" He slid down as well.

"No. Should I?" Lilly shrugged once before sending a message to her father, asking where he was. Quietly she talked to Peri, and watched him walk into the forest. She smiled as she held her hand out to Draco, happy that he didn't care what she was.

"Shall I show you how my people travel?" He took her hand and felt a tingling go all around him. He felt his eyes shut on their own. The tingling stopped and he opened his eyes to see a bunch of lights around them fading. He noticed Severus standing near them. _Where are we? _He asked her as they followed Snape through a large door. _The headmaster's office I believe. _Draco didn't say anything else as they were led into the room.

Draco looked at the tall man tied to the chair. His face was screwed up in a sneer and a long cut ran down one eye. But other than that he looked like an average blond blue eyed man. Though something about him made Draco think he had seen this man before. Beside him, Lilly pulled her breath in quickly. He quickly got flashes of various things run through his head. A cell door, a silver knife, handcuffs, a man in uniform laughing, a gleam of silver, a smiling blonde girl, a dragon, a figure in the dark, blood dripping from a knife. He turned to Lilly, realising the images where what was going through her head.

Lilly tensed her muscles, trying not to run from the room. This was the man who had electrocuted her when she was barely four. This was the man who had tried to kill her while she got an ice cream. This was the man who raped her then left her to die after cutting her veins. This one man had been out to kill her nearly all her life. She stepped backward, vaguely aware of the voices around her.

"She recognises him. And I think this man has done a lot of bad things to her." Draco told all the others in the room. Albus looked at him quizzically.

"And what makes you say that?" Draco turned to him.

"I can hear her thoughts. See what is running through her..."He trailed off, listening as Lilly worked out where she had seen the man before. Suddenly Lilly's voice in his head shut down, as though she realised her could read her mind.

"You can read her mind?" The man tied to the chair spoke for the first time since Lilly and Draco had entered the room. Lilly flinched at the sound of his voice. Draco however stood up to him.

"Yeah. What is it to you?" He sneered, disliking the man instantly.

"She is bonded. The _diable _has bonded. Prince Silvanus is going to love this." Lilly's head snapped up. She put on a mask, hiding the fact that she was terrified. No one in the room could tell how scared she was. No one except Draco, who was still tightly holding her hand.

"What does Silvanus have to do with anything?" The man, Cerberus, burst out laughing.

"Prince Silvanus is the one who ordered your death." He stressed the word 'prince'. Lilly barely blinked. Somehow this didn't suprise her.

"Okay then." She went to leave. Cerberus leaned forward, sneering.

"Don't you want to know why your brother wants you dead?" Lilly shrugged.

"I don't particulary care." She noticed a string around his neck with a pure black rock on it. A rock that would easily transport back to whoever held the other one.

Carefully she focused her thoughts on the necklace. Draco watched in suprise as the rope and rock shimmered then dissapeared. Lilly's free hand tingled as the necklace appeared in it. She turned on her heel, keeping her hand out of sight the whole time then staged her exit. Albus mentioned Azkaban to Severus who was in agreement and asked Lilly for her opinion. But she had left.

As soon as the door shut, Lilly, still dragging Draco behind her, orbed away. He opened his eyes to see they were standing in the astronomy tower. Lilly walked to the railing, flicking her hand with the chain out. It flew through the air and exploded into a million sparkling pieces.

"Lilly?" He didn't finish his sentence, sensing she would know what he meant.

"It would have transported him back. He wouldn't have been able to orb back, but that chain would have taken him straight to the matching partner. He wasn't scared because he knew he could get back to Ayrliah with the chain." Draco didn't say anything for a full minute; instead he put his arm around her as they looked toward the setting sun.

"The explosion thing was pretty cool."

"Yeah, thanks." They stood in the silence once more. Finally Draco couldn't stand it anymore. He turned his head toward her, looking in her grey eyes.

"Lilly. Who is this Silvanus guy that wants you dead? And...What did that man in there do to you?" A tear rolled down her cheek as she opened her mouth.

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	14. Hot and cold

**Now for a second attempt. Sorry for the earlier mistake, turns out someone has been on my laptop and changed titles of my chapters and deleted bits of some chapters. Thanks to Mic for pointing out the error of this chapter.**

**In case you werent aware by now, I dont own anything recognisable.**

**Thanks to those who read and review, and to Mic and Sadies for the spell checking.**

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**~**

He turned his head toward her, looking in her grey eyes.

"Lilly. Who is this Silvanus guy that wants you dead? And...What did that man in there do to you?" A tear rolled down her cheek as she opened her mouth.

**~**

Lilly looked away as she shook her head. She couldn't tell him. She couldn't tell anyone. She leaned on the railing and let the tear slip down her cheek.

Draco didn't know what to do. He was new to this relationship; only meeting her a few days ago. He did think they had an odd bond between them. And the dragon-man said something about bonding. He wondered if this bonding thing had something to do with the way he felt about Lilly; the feelings that had appeared almost overnight. Sure, he had been thinking about her since he met her, but he didn't believe in such a short time he could feel this way. The silence in his head told him she either wasn't listening or in no mood to reply. Something horrible had happened to her though. And it probably bought back painful memories.

Lilly sighed as she stared into the sky. She didn't have to read his mind to know he was confused. But she didn't know what to tell him. For years she had kept everything a secret. And she wasn't about to spill that secret. So she stood watching the sun setting. Draco slipped his arms around her, the motion becoming automatic. She leaned into his embrace, feeling safe. He lowered his lips to her ear, whispering gently.

"If you want to tell me, I'll listen. If you don't, I'll understand. Either way, I'm here for you." Lilly smiled as she turned in his arms to face him. She pressed her lips to his cheek.

"Thank you."

They stood in comfortable silence. Not speaking, not thinking. _Lilly, you and Draco should probably come here now. _Lilly jumped as her father's voice interrupted the silence. She put a little more space between herself and Draco.

"We have to go now." Draco nodded as the tingling began.

**~**

They opened the door to Snape's quarters as they broke apart. Draco marvelled at how, in such a short space of time, they had gotten so close. Lilly smiled, hearing his thoughts. To their surprise, a tall long hair blond man sat in the chair opposite Severus. Narcissa Malfoy sat next to the blond man, all three adults rising as the two kids entered the room. _Oh damn. _Lilly looked at him. _My parents. I was supposed to stay home today. _Lilly laughed lightly in her head. _Bit late for that. Besides, you were here with me. Is there something wrong with that? _Draco shook his head. _It's a long story._

"Lilly, how nice to see you again." Narcissa was the first one to break the silence.

"It is lovely to see you again too Mrs Malfoy." Lilly gave a genuine smile. Narcissa went to say something but the cold look from her husband silenced her. Lilly sifted through their thoughts, noticing Narcissa was happy that Draco and Lilly appeared to be getting along. Mr Malfoy however, was very angry that his son ignored the orders that he had given him that morning. Lilly thought Draco's parents were quite opposite; his mother warm and loving, whereas his father was cool and commanding. Lilly instantly disliked the ice cold blond man.

"So have you been here all day Draco?" Lucius asked with ice in his every word. Draco nodded.

"I thought I said for you to stay at home." Draco looked at him, slightly scared of his father.

"I didn't think you would mind. After all, Severus is my godfather." Lucius considered that.

"Lucius, I don't mind if Draco comes over sometimes. It will give my daughter someone to talk to. Someone her own age. And she and Draco will be in the same year at school, I think it would be good for her to have at least one friend before she starts school here." Lucius dropped the icy cold look on his face as he listened to Severus' words.

"I guess that will be fine. When will she be sorted into a house?" Lilly and Draco both looked at the adults as they discussed them. _Houses? What are these houses? _Draco smiled, realizing how useful this silent conversation could be. _There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and the best, Slytherin. They each have different colours and stuff like that, but the main thing is we live in the different houses and we earn house points and stuff. It's easy to get used to. _Lilly nodded, the explanation not exactly sounding that easy. _I'm going to guess that you are in Slytherin. _Draco nodded. _And your father is the head of Slytherin house. _Lilly smiled. _If you and Severus are both in Slytherin then that's the house I want. How do I get in?_

"She'll be sorted with all the first years at the great feast."  
"Well I hope she gets in Slytherin." Lucius paused, glancing at the girl. "She looks remarkably like you." Severus raised an eyebrow, so Lucius continued. "The dark hair, pale complexion. And the dark eyes." They both looked over at her, and Severus noticed that at that moment, her eyes were indeed his colour.

"Her features are all very small and delicate. She is very beautiful. I hope you are proud Severus." Narcissa once again joined the conversation. She gave Lilly a smile. Lilly tried to smile back, but felt a bit self-conscious under the stare of all the adults. Draco sensed her discomfort and gave her hand a quick squeeze behind her back, hoping the adults wouldn't notice. _They didn't. _He had to stifle a laugh; Lilly acted like invading people's privacy was normal.

"Of course I am." He put his arm around his daughter. She smiled, but he noted that she looked a little more pale than normal.

"Well, we must be going Severus. Lilly, it was nice meeting you. We shall set up some time for Draco and you to meet up." Lucius moved over to the fire as he spoke. "Draco." He looked at the fire.

Lilly quickly cast a brief spell over the adults in the room, just so their attention was averted for a minute. She hugged Draco tightly. He hugged her back. _How long does this mind reading thing go for? Like, when I'm at home will I be able to talk to you?" _Lilly paused, considering that. The adults returned their attention as Lilly and Draco pulled apart. _I'm not sure; I guess we can test it. Once you get home call my name. If I hear you, I'll reply. _Draco nodded once as he stepped into the fireplace.

Lilly watched in shock as he dropped some powdery thing and after saying something he disappeared in a burst of bright green flames. She gasped in horror. Severus put his arm around her muttering quietly that it was only one of their ways of travelling. She still looked really scared. Narcissa did the same and Lilly gasped again, only it wasn't as obvious. She headed to her room while Severus and Lucius exchanged a few words. Lying down, she thought about the green flames.

**~**

_Lilly? _She jumped as Draco's voice entered her mind. _Draco? You're okay? _Draco laughed. _Of course I am. What did you think? _Lilly replayed the green flames in her head. Draco didn't reply as he realised what the scene would look like to an outsider. He spent the next 15 minutes explaining how the floo network worked. He noticed he didn't get a reply at the end. And focusing real hard he began to pick up on the images going through her mind. Mostly of a beautiful garden filled with a multitude of colourful flowers. A blonde girl appeared a couple of times, as did Severus. But he noticed his own face appeared more than the other two. Grinning, he realised Lilly must have fallen asleep. He left her to her dreams and focused his thoughts on the upcoming ball.

**~**

Severus watched his daughter sleep. He couldn't help being worried. It seemed to come to him naturally now. Only hours ago they had all thought Lilly was dead. But she was back, and nearly back to her usual self. _There must be something about her, something different, something that changes the people around her. I never used to care for children. I don't really, but I care for her. And even Draco is acting differently. She even won over Narcissa really quickly. It must be an Ayrliann thing. It should make school a bit easier. She isn't going to have an easy time. Pansy Parkinson won't like her. At all. And she will turn a lot of the Slytherin girls against her. Perhaps Lilly would be best off in another house. _He transfigured the dress she was wearing into a pair of pyjamas and used his wand to get her tucked under the blankets without her waking. He gently kissed her before he left.

**~**

Severus was surprised to see Lilly slept through most of the next day. He spent the morning in his potions lab, pausing every half hour just to check on her. He smiled every time as he watched her sleeping with her little kitten curled up right beside her. Draco showed up halfway through the afternoon, and he too smiled as he seen the sleeping pair. When he peeked through the door the fuzzy kitten awoke and ran over to him, rubbing against his leg. At the shifting of Layla, Lilly awoke. She yawned slightly and noticed to two males watching her.

She ducked her head under the covers, laughing. Draco commented on how there were only a few hours until the dance. Excited, Lilly shot out of bed. Severus struggled to refrain himself from laughing as he stuck out his arm to stop her.

"Eat first." Lilly rolled her eyes. She looked at Draco, but he just raised an eyebrow. Feeling defeated, she allowed them to lead her to the table and she quickly ate the food placed in front of her by the house-elf. She then dashed away to get ready, barely pausing to take a breath. The males laughed, heading back to the potions lab, figuring that Lilly, being a girl, would take a while.

Shortly after, Lilly called to them both in her mind. She had noticed that Draco was neatly dressed in a dark suit, while her father was in his typical black robes. She put the final earring in her ear and walked out of her room to greet the guys. Both of them gasped.


	15. Emeralds and a Ruby

**Disclaimer: I'm still not the owner of anything related to Harry Potter. I would like to, but I dont :(**

**Thanks to those who have been reviewing, it means alot!**

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**~**  
Shortly after, Lilly called to them both in her mind. She had noticed that Draco was neatly dressed in a dark suit, while her father was in his typical black robes. She put the final earring in her ear and walked out of her room to greet the guys. Both of them gasped.

**~**

Her dark curls had been pulled into a loose bun, with loose tendrils escaping and brushing across her shoulder. She had on the barest trace of makeup; her eyelids held the faintest trace of glitter, a tiny amount of eyeliner was on her lower lashes and some peach scented lip gloss. A string of emeralds hung in her ears. A thin silver chain went around her neck, a small emerald heart pendant hanging on it. She wore an emerald green halter neck dress. The skirt fluttered out a bit, ending just above her knees. The addition of a pair of silver sandals made her an inch taller.

Draco thought she looked simply amazing. Severus couldn't say anything; he was unable to believe that she was his daughter. Severus was the first to get his voice back.

"Lilly, you look…" He trailed off

"Amazing." Draco finished. Lilly blushed slightly, wondering why they were having such a strong reaction. It wasn't much different to what she usually wore back in Ayrliah. The room had gone silent, no one quite knowing what to say. Lilly broke the silence.

"How are we getting there?" She hoped she wouldn't have to use the flames.

"Through the fire." Severus told her. Lilly swore internally. Draco laughed. Severus walked out of the room to change into his dress robes as the two kids gently argued about using the floo network. Lilly was adamant she would not go into the green fire. Severus knew she wouldn't give in.

Dressed neatly, he re-joined the younger two in the living room. Lilly sat perched on the back of the sofa, a smirk on her face. Draco sat on a chair with his arms crossed, glaring at her. Severus nearly laughed.

"I'm going to guess Lilly won that argument." Neither of them relied, however Draco rolled his eyes and Lilly smiled.

"We had better be going." Severus paused, thinking. "And Lilly, if you aren't going to use the floo how do you plan on getting there?" Draco was the one to answer.

"I'm taking the floo, she is planning on orbing directly to me." He turned to Lilly. "It's not going to work."

"It will. I'll show you. Now go." Draco didn't look back as he disappeared with the green flames. Lilly counted to three then she too disappeared in a burst of emerald green glittery lights. Severus rolled his eyes, waiting patiently. _You coming? _Lilly thought to him, and chuckling he disappeared in the green flames.

**~**

Lilly grinned widely as she appeared next to Draco. _Told you. _She poked her tongue out. He didn't comment. _You coming? _She sent the message to her father, wondering why he was taking so long. He emerged out of the green flames and stood next to them. Together, the three of them entered the ballroom of the Malfoy Manor. The whole room was done in various shades of blues and greens, with a lot of flowers around, creating a summery feel. Two large doors were wide open on one side, leading out to a small outdoor area. Butterflies flew through the air, one brushing Lilly's arm. She turned in a circle, unable to take in how beautiful everything was.

Narcissa Malfoy gracefully headed over, her long golden dress floating out elegantly behind her. Unlike Lilly, her dress brushed the clean marble floor, draping down her slender frame making her look like a goddess. Her long silvery hair had slight waves in it but was left loose. She held a smile on her face, and to Lilly, Narcissa was one of the most beautiful people she had seen. They exchanged a few brief words before they allowed Draco to pull Lilly away so the adults could talk. Draco took her hand and pulled her on the dance floor, the pair so in synch their moves were perfect. _Lilly, you truly do look really good in emerald green. _Lilly felt her cheeks warm at the compliment.

"Severus, I have something I want to show you." Narcissa informed him as soon as their children were out of earshot. Severus rolled his eyes. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along behind her. She lead him to an area by the dance floor where dozens of round white tables sat, some with people sitting in the iron chairs, eating and talking, some empty. They stood near an empty chair and she looked over the dancers. Severus followed her gaze and noticed it stopped on a graceful pair in the middle.

The complicated lighting in the room made it hard for him to see what they were doing, but as he watched, the male dancer pulled the dark headed girl closer, the pair of them smiling and laughing. The girl ran her hand through the males blond hair spinning away delicately as he tried to grab her. That's when Severus realised who the dancers were. Lilly and Draco.

"Our children." Narcissa's quiet voice pulled his attention from the kids. He raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what her point was.

"What is your point?" She smiled sadly, turning back to the scene in front of them.

"I want him to stay like this. Happy. And laughing. All holidays Lucius has been finding fault with him, complaining, and Draco keeps retreating more and more into his room. I don't want to lose Draco like I lost." Her eyes misted over. Severus waited patiently for her to speak again. "But Lilly, your daughter, has bought him back out and he is happy again. They have an amazing bond, I'm not sure what exactly it is, but I can tell when he thinks about Lilly, his face lights up. All I want is for our children to be happy. And for you to keep an eye on them at school. Don't let the other girls get Lilly down. Especially that Parkinson girl." She looked down at her hands. "I noticed the change not long ago, but seeing them together confirmed what I thought. You can't have missed the looks between them, or the very subtle way they have their private conversations, almost like they can read each other's minds." Severus laughed, knowing that most of the time they were reading each other's minds, using it as a way of having a private conversation in a busy room.

"I talked to Lucius about them. He doesn't want our son to be anywhere near Lilly. But I don't want this. If Lilly and Draco like each other, I want them to be able. I hope you want the same thing for your little girl." Narcissa stopped her talking, looking down at her hands, knowing that if Lucius knew what she had said he would be trying to get Draco as far away from Lilly as possible, And Narcissa did not want to lose her only child. Severus nodded then turned to her.

"I want Lilly to be happy. And if Draco makes her happy then I want him around her." Narcissa smiled happily. She took one last look at the kids.

"Thank you. That's all I needed to hear, that they will be allowed to see each other." She turned, as if to leave, but spun to face him again. "Severus, by the way, the woman over there in the blue dress has been eyeing you up." She pointed subtly at a dark haired woman in a deep sky blue dress standing on the other side of the room. Severus smirked at Narcissa, ignoring her comment, and went back to watching Lilly.

**~**

Lilly smiled happily as she danced with Draco. A few months ago, when she was all alone, she would have never dreamt that anything like this would happen to her. She sighed contently. _What's wrong? _Draco's voice sounded in her head. Using telepathy to talk to each other had become instinct. Lilly smiled up at him. _Nothing, I am just happy. _Her words made Draco smile. He brushed a stray curl off her face.

"I'm happy too."He got the feeling he was being watched, and scanned the room for whoever was watching them. He smirked as he noticed a pug faced girl standing in the corner. Her eyes glinted maliciously as she stared at the pretty girl dancing with Draco. Pansy Parkinson was watching Draco and Lilly, her face nearly as red as the bright dress she wore. Draco turned Lilly slightly so that he blocked the two girls seeing each other. Pansy continued to shoot daggers at his back for a while, before she couldnt retain her anger, and she burst into tears.

**~**

Draco and Lilly continued to move with the music until Lilly felt like she was being watched, by someone other than the jealous sulker. Subtly she kept her mind open for her name. Lilly's mind reading ability had increased lately, so she had no problem picking up that it was Narcissa thinking about her. She listened to the conversation between her father and Draco's mother, aware that Draco was listening to the conversation as it ran through Lilly's mind. They both laughed lightly as they heard their parents saying that they wanted them to be happy, to be together. Lilly tuned out of the conversation, ignoring what was being said. Until she heard Narcissa mention a woman in blue. She immediately looked for the woman, and spotted her standing not far away.

Lilly scanned her mind, working out that the woman was genuinely interested in her father. She looked over at her father, who was watching her. She gave a cheeky smile. _Go and introduce yourself. _He made no effort to move. _Or I will. _He smirked at her. Lilly went to say something but noticed the woman was moving over to him. Draco led her over to a table half hidden by a flower pot so they could watch without being seen.

Severus looked up in interest as the mysterious woman headed over. He had to admit, she was very good looking; she had deep chocolate brown curls just longer than her shoulders, a shy but pretty smile and bright blue eyes sparkling the same shade as her dress.

"Hi, I'm Ruby." She held out her hand. He shook it, giving half a smile.

"Severus." Ruby laughed lightly.

"I know, I asked Narcissa to introduce us when you arrived. She told me to do it myself." She smiled at him. A waiter walked by and offered them both a drink. Both adults took it.

Lilly smiled as she peered through bits of the plant. Her father and this Ruby woman seemed to be getting along quite well. They were flirting, talking, laughing and occasionally they would dance. At first Lilly thought it would go badly, what with her father acting all sullen. But the drink seemed to loosen him up a little. She kept an eye on him though, sure that he wouldn't want a repeat of thirteen years ago. She also read their minds occasionally, realising that both adults liked each other. This made her smile.

However, it wasn't until nearly three hours had passed that Ruby asked Severus what he did. When he told her Lilly listened in on her thoughts. _He teaches at Hogwarts? What a coincidence. At least when I begin I will know someone; the gorgeous potions teacher. That is brilliant! _Ruby giggled lightly. Lilly smiled and told Draco, who laughed along with her. Of all the people for her father to meet, he had to meet the one who would be working alongside him.


	16. Perfect

**Disclaimer remains the same.**

**Thanks to my readers/reviewers and extra thanks to Sadie and Mic for spell checking.**

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**~**

A few hours later Narcissa sought out Severus. Finding him dancing with Ruby, she apologized for interrupting.

"Sorry Severus. I thought I would tell you Lilly is asleep upstairs, she can go home in the morning." Severus smiled.

"Lilly?" He shook his head slightly, as if to clear water out of his ears. "Lilly? Ugh my brain feels fuzzy." Narcissa didn't comment, waiting for him to remember. Ruby looked at Narcissa, confused. As far as Ruby knew, Severus was there alone. Severus's eyes widened.

"Lilly! Damn, is she okay?" Narcissa nodded. "Good. Ugh, I shouldn't drink." Ruby raised her eyebrows.

"Who is Lilly?" _A girlfriend? Wife? _Ruby thought bitterly. Severus turned to her.

"Lilly is my daughter." Ruby looked at him in surprise.

"You forgot about your own daughter?" Severus shook his head.

"No. Well, yes. I'm new to being a father. I wasn't even aware I had a kid until very recently." Ruby nodded, glad Lilly was only his child.

"And her mother…?" She trailed off.

"Out of the picture. One night stand. Hadn't thought about her in years, until Lilly showed up." Ruby nodded happily. Glad that he had no girlfriend, wife or the mother of his child in his life. Narcissa left them alone, secretly smiling. Ruby looked at Severus, then down at her watch.

"I'm sorry Sev, I had better be going." He nodded slowly, slightly disappointed. She put one arm around his shoulders, facing him. Their faces inches apart. He looked down at her, wondering whether to kiss her.

She put her hand in his hair behind his head and gently pushed his head down lower, allowing her to reach up and press her lips to his. He kissed her, tasting her strawberry lip gloss, pulling her in closer. Their pulses raced, hearts beat faster, bodies trembled. Neither of them had felt that way in a very long time, if ever. Ruby pulled away, taking in breath. Slowly she turned away, kissing him one last time. She walked away, pausing as she reached the door. She pressed her hand to her lips and blew him a kiss as she walked away, grinning cheekily.

Severus managed to get into a chair. He brushed his dark hair away from his eyes, thinking about Ruby. Thinking about kissing her. In his opinion they had moved really fast; only having met a few hours earlier. But he wasn't exactly acting like himself. The alcohol could take the blame for that. He stood up and walked out; noticing the crowd of people had dwindled down. He passed the Parkinson's, who were trying to calm a sobbing Pansy; a couple of other people who nodded to acknowledge him and the Malfoy's, with Narcissa beaming like a Cheshire Cat. He didn't stop to say anything to her, knowing she was behind setting him up.

Severus checked the empty rooms upstairs in the Malfoy Manor, but didn't see any sign of his little girl. The only door left was the one to Draco's room, and he hoped she wasn't in there. Sure, she and Draco had gotten extremely close in such a short time, but they were only thirteen! He pushed open the door and was surprised to see Draco asleep on his bed, with his arm around a sleeping Lilly. Severus sighed, unsure of what to do. He heard someone approach from behind him.

"Leave them Severus." Narcissa spoke quietly, not wanting to wake the children.

"But…" He began, trailing off as she glared at him.

"Leave her, she will be fine. She was so tired she nearly passed out. But she didn't want to tell you because you were too busy with Ruby. By the way, I noticed you two got on really well." Narcissa changed the subject smoothly, not realising how protective Severus was of his daughter. She didn't mention that the reason she wanted Lilly to stay was so she could talk to her without her father knowing.

Severus sighed, and slowly shut the door. He gave Narcissa a cold stare.

"You set me up. And I fell for it." Narcissa returned his cold look.

"I didn't set you up. Ruby was actually interested in you. I didn't bother to introduce her because she is one of my closest friends and I don't want her hurt when you brush her away, like you do with everyone. If you keep this up, this brushing everyone close away like you have done for as long as I have known you, soon you will have no friends. You could even end up pushing your own daughter away." With that she turned and walked away. She had been glad he had made a connection with someone, but the way he acted, as though he couldn't believe anyone would like him, made Narcissa annoyed.

Severus went home to his empty quarters. It seemed too quiet. He stepped out of the fire and nearly tripped over Layla, who lay right beside the fire, as if waiting for them to return. He picked up the small kitten and patted her as he walked to his room. He changed quickly and lay down on his bed. Layla pushed his arm away with a paw and curled up right beside him, her small body purring. Absently he stroked her as he thought about Narcissa's cold words.

_I don't care if I push people away. I don't want people near me. _He thought of Lilly, how happy she was living with him. _She can't actually be happy to be here. Maybe she is just happy to be away from her mother. _His thoughts changed, and once again he found himself thinking about the dark haired beauty, Ruby. _Narcissa must have set me up, and then denied it. No way could a woman be interested in me. Though, I did drink a bit. _He thought of what had happened the time 13 years ago that he had drank a lot. _At least I can't have another secret child, I'm alone. _His words echoed through his head as he drifted off to sleep. _I'm alone, alone, alone._

**~**

Draco opened his eyes in the darkness of the morning. The sun had risen a while ago but the thick green curtains held the light back. He felt someone warm beside him. Leaning over, he smiled as he realised it was Lilly sleeping. He gently brushed a curl back, wondering why Severus hadn't come to remove her.

_The two kids had gotten bored at the ball. They had danced, ate, danced some more, but they had quickly tired of that. Draco had spotted Pansy Parkinson sitting in a corner glaring at him, and for a while he was unable to work out why. Then he realised Pansy was just jealous of Lilly. He hadn't had really wanted to talk to her so he ignored her glaring daggers aimed at his back the whole evening. Lilly had eavesdropped on her father and the woman he was with but that too had gotten boring and had given Lilly a headache. _

_So Draco had suggested they go upstairs where it was quieter. He had taught Lilly some basics of Wizards chess, but they gave up on that after a while. They lay back on his bed after Lilly enchanted the high ceiling to look like the night sky. Draco then spent a while telling her about the ministry of magic and how they weren't allowed to do magic outside of school. Lilly had just shrugged; they hadn't found her yet, had they? And it wasn't like she was using a wand. Eventually both of the kids had drifted to sleep._

Beside him, Lilly awoke. She didn't recognise the room she was in, and for a moment she panicked, especially when she realised there was someone next to her. When she turned to see Draco, she calmed down considerably. Narcissa poked her head into the room as they went to leave it. Lilly knew she had to get home, and wondered where her father is.

"Lilly, can I talk to you for a moment?" Narcissa asked her sweetly. Lilly nodded as Draco headed down the stairwell ahead of them. Narcissa stopped at the top and turned to Lilly.

"Lilly, I want to know what you think about Ruby."

"Uh, I don't really know anything about her. I know her name is Ruby, and she will be a teacher at Hogwarts. Other than that, nothing. Oh, and she is interested in my father." Narcissa smiled; Lilly was very observant.

"Well, yes. She is a good friend of mine, and has seen your father around before and really wanted to meet him. I honestly didn't expect they would hit it off so well. But then…Anyway, do you mind if Severus and Ruby see each other." Lilly raised an eyebrow. Narcissa continued. "It's just that I think Severus is holding back because he doesn't want you to feel he doesn't want you." Lilly laughed.

"I can read minds; I'll know how he feels, even if he doesn't say it." Narcissa smiled widely, she had suspected that Lilly could read minds; it explained how she communicated with Draco.

"Do you know how your father feels about Ruby?" Lilly looked hesitant.

"Umm, he likes her." Narcissa nodded as she started down the stairs.

"Perfect." Lilly remained at the top, confused.

"What is perfect?"

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**Please Review!**


	17. Not the only new one

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

**Thanks to Sadies and Mic for checking, and lots of thanks to SweetieCherrie for being the only reviewer of the last two chapters **

**Please read the note at the bottom when finished reading...It's very important!!!  
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**~**

Narcissa nodded as she started down the stairs.

"Perfect." Lilly remained at the top, confused.

"What is perfect?"

**~**

Narcissa didn't respond. Lilly began to walk down the stairs. _Lilly? You awake? _Her father's voice came into her head. She sent a quick message to Draco as she orbed home.

Severus wasn't surprised to see Lilly appear in the room as soon as he had called her.

"Sleep well?" Lilly nodded, wondering why he had called her. He just nodded once in reply as he walked out of his quarters, indicating for Lilly to follow him. She hurried after him, aware she was still in the dress from yesterday. She touched her hand to the silky emerald material and changed it into a pair of black boots, black jeans and a warm white thigh length jacket. Severus didn't comment, barely even noticing.

"It turns out you are not the only student to be entering the school at a year level higher than the first years. There is a family, two boys and three girls I think, that will be starting this year. They will be here for a tour of the school shortly, and Dumbledore thought it would be good for you to go along with them to get an idea of the school." Lilly looked up at him as she matched his pace.

"Why? I don't really need to know where everything is, I just need a map and I can orb there." Severus looked at her.

"Lilly, that may have worked wherever your school was before, but here you will be expected to be like all the other students who walk to their classes." Lilly sighed. "There is one more thing Lilly." He paused walking, stopping just before the gargoyle that would take them to the headmaster's office.

"It has been decided that you will be introduced as a student who has just come, possibly from another country, you do occasionally pick up a slight accent in your words. And that you will be Lilly Butanté, and not introduced as my daughter." Lilly looked up at him, her face holding an expression of something crossed between shock and confusion.

"Why?" Severus sighed.

"Lilly, I'm not the most popular teacher. And a lot of the students will despise you just because of who you are related to. And, do you honestly want to be treated differently because others are scared of me?" Lilly slowly shook her head. A tear formed in her eye. "It's not that I don't want you, of course I do. I just don't want you having a hard time at school because of me." Lilly nodded slowly, the tear slipping out of her eye. He gently hugged her, and felt her tightly hug him back. "It can be up to you if you want." Lilly let go and stepped back.

"Can I still live with you?" Severus nodded.

"Of course."

"Even when school starts?"

"Whenever you want." Lily smiled.

"Okay, then I'm fine with not saying you're my father. Though, Draco knows. And don't some of the teachers?" Severus nodded, trying to recall who knew.

"Yeah, but they won't tell, or treat you any different. Hopefully. I told them to keep that information a secret." Lilly didn't say anything; instead she tilted her head in the direction of the gargoyle. Severus muttered the password, which Lily ignored. They entered the room.

Albus Dumbledore sat his desk. Across from him sat a tanned couple talking quietly. Lilly thought they had a faint accent, but couldn't tell where it was from. Five kids sat together on some comfy looking chairs in the corner, talking in whispers. From where Lilly stood she could see there were two males, one older than her, the other looking younger. They both had light brown hair and sun kissed skin. There were two girls sitting very close, one blonde, the other a blondish brown, both tanned like the rest of their family. There was a third girl, with hair very similar in colour to her brothers. She wasn't quite as tanned as the rest of her family, and sat away from them slightly.

When Albus saw Lilly and Severus enter he stood up. He went and spoke quietly to Severus, who nodded encouragingly to Lilly before leaving. Albus looked form Lilly to the family.

"Right, this is the Baldur family. Jenny and Andrew." He indicated the two adults. "And their kids." He indicated the children in the corner. "Let's see, we have Dimitri, who will be in the fourth year." He indicated the older male, who gave Lilly a lazy smile. "Damon, who will be a second year student." The other male gave Lilly a smile, very similar to his older brother's. "And the girls will all be in the same year as you." Lilly raised an eyebrow, she had thought the two who stood very close were non identical twins, but she wouldn't have guessed triplets. The blondish brown girl spoke.

"I'm Amelia. This is Clara." She pointed to her sister who was right beside her. "And that is Imoen." She indicated the last girl. Lilly gave them all a shy smile. Lilly hadn't missed the smile that passed between Amelia and Clara as they were introduced, and Lilly didn't miss the smirk that appeared identically on their faces as they mentioned their triplet.

"I'm Lilly." She didn't elaborate, unsure of what to say. Dimitri walked over and shook her hand, giving her a cheeky grin the whole time. Immediately Lilly liked him, thinking he was the kind of guy it was easy to get along with. Damon followed the example set by his brother, but was a little more shy about it. Neither Clara nor Amelia made any effort to acknowledge her, but Imoen went over and shyly said hi. Albus walked to the door and asked everyone to follow to begin their tour of the school. Lilly dropped to the back, with Imoen.

They walked in silence for a bit, as they were shown the great hall. Dimitri dropped back in between Lilly and Imoen.

"So Lilly, where are you from?" His deep voice held a trace of what Lilly thought was a Russian accent.

"France." Lilly decided that was the easiest thing to say; Ayrliah was close to France, and French was the first language she spoke.

"But you don't have a French accent!" Imoen blurted out, before covering her mouth. Dimitri disagreed with her, shaking his head.

"She does have a faint accent; it appeareds in some words she says." Lilly frowned, unaware that she had an accent.

"I'm originally from London but I lived in France before here." Lilly laughed. Dimitri nodded.

"What about you guys? Where did you live before here? Because you all don't have much of an accent either." Dimitri laughed.

"We were born in Russia. The girls attended a boarding school in London for most of their lives, while Damon and I attended boarding schools in both London and Russia." Imoen looked down at her hands slightly at the mention of boarding school. Lilly went to read her mind, then decided to leave the girl with her privacy. Dimitri would occasionally ask her a question about herself but most of them she deflected. It wasn't until he asked her why her parents weren't with her that she stopped and thought about it. She didn't reply, and he didn't press her for information.

Lilly only heard half of what the headmaster had been saying. It wasn't until they stood in the courtyard outside when she zoned back into the conversation. Albus was telling them of the subjects they could be taking. Lily frowned, Arithmancy sounded boring, Ancient runes was a subject that she had been taught her whole life, Divination sounded rather dull, and Muggle studies seemed like possibly the worst class. Care of Magical creatures was the only one she was interested in. Imoen broke the silence that came after Dumbledore mentioned the elective classes.

"Care of magical creatures?" Albus nodded.

"Yes, it is quite an interesting class. Only, I just hired a new teacher for that class, so I have no idea what you would be studying if you take that class."

"Eww. Animals. Do you know how many germs they have?" One of Imoen's sisters said. Imoen looked at the ground, downcast. Lilly looked at her and whispered.

"I think taking care of animals sounds like the best class." Imoen looked up at her.

"Really?" Lilly nodded

"Of course." Imoen smiled.

"My sisters, the Graces as I know them, are not into animals."

"The Graces?"

"They both have the middle name Grace. My parents thought they had twins but a few hours later had me. I'm not really much like the other two, I don't even have the same birthday, I'm a day after them." Lilly nodded, smiling.

"Cool. The Graces. Suits them. They seem, well, rather stuck up." Imoen laughed.

"They are." Unfortunately the tour of the school ended rather quickly and the Baldur's went to leave Hogwarts. Lilly walked with them to the carriages that would take them away. Dimitri reached out and patted one of the weird horses that stood in front of the carriage. Lilly joined him, noting the animal wasn't as scary as it had first seemed. The Graces stood behind them, laughing. Dimitri turned and asked them what was so funny. Both of his parents and Damon looked confused. Imoen hadn't really noticed. The blonde, Clara opened her mouth.

"It's not funny to pretend to be patting a horse when there is nothing there. It just makes you look stupid."

"Yeah, as if we would believe there is something there that we can't see." Amelia looked down her nose as she spoke. Albus chuckled slightly.

"There are things that pull the carriages here, they are called thestrals. You can only see them if you have seen death. I'm surprised two people so young can see them." The two girls frowned and then stuck their noses back up in the air. Imoen walked over to Lilly, who surprised Lilly by hugging her.

"I can't wait until we start Hogwarts." Imoen whispered into Lilly's ear.

"Me too." Lilly whispered back, pulling away as Dimitri stepped up to Lilly.

"Do I get a hug?" She laughed at his request, but hugged him anyway; glad she had made new friends already, and wouldn't be starting the year alone. She waved as the family got into the carriage and the thestrals started moving. She jumped as Severus walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him.

"Can you see the thestrals?" He looked down at her, silently nodding. Dumbledore didn't say anything as they walked back inside. "Professor, is it common for people to be able to see them?" He shook his head as he directed them to the great hall.

"No, it's not. And it is actually surprisingly rarer for children to be able to see them. Adults are more common, as they have lived longer, but a child…Two children, you and Dimitri, makes me wonder what the world is coming to…" His voice trailed off. Severus looked down at Lilly.

"Who have you see die?" He then looked away. _You don't have to tell me. _Lilly rolled her eyes. _I've been dead. Twice. _Severus nodded, but didn't reply, so she told him, _I've also seen someone die, but I'd rather not think about it. _He respected her wish and they sat down with the other teachers at the long table that Dumbledore had placed in the middle of the hall. Severus introduced her to some of the teachers she didn't know, and they all looked at him in surprise, unable to believe she was his daughter. Minerva McGonagall talked quietly to Lilly, secretly hoping the girl would be placed in her house, just to annoy Severus. She offered to teach Lilly some basics with her wand so she wouldn't be entering the year blind. Lilly agreed, then realised something. _Where did I put my wand?_

_

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_**A/N ****Lilly, and all the Baldur children, (Dimitri, Amelia, Clara, Imoen and Damon) will all be sorted soon, any suggestions for which house/s they should be put into would be lovely. Suggestions are especially wanted for Lilly – I am totally stuck as to which house to put her in! Please review and let me know which house you think she should be in...Until anyone manages to pursued me into choosing a house, my story is kind of hard to write. Thanks!**


	18. Disappointment

**Just a filler chapter, so it is alot shorter...I generally aim for about 1500 words...the next one will be up tomorrow.**

**Thanks to SweetieCherrie, Mic (encypher) and the crazy one for their input. A house for Lilly has been decided...and will be revealed soon.**

**And yay!!! I have over 50 reviews!!!! That makes me very happy! I would however, love it if the people who read regulary or get this emailed to them could leave a review, just to let me know what you think. (obviously some people must like it if they get it sent to their inbox...)  
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**I still don't own much, just my made up characters and the plot.**

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Minerva McGonagall talked quietly to Lilly, secretly hoping the girl would be placed in her house, just to annoy Severus. She offered to teach Lilly some basics with her wand so she wouldn't be entering the year blind. Lilly agreed, then realised something. _Where did I put my wand?_

_**~**_

Once Lilly was allowed to leave the hall she orbed straight to her room, hoping to find her wand before Severus returned. She glanced around her room, noting it wasn't on the top of anything. _It could be ANYWHERE! _She sighed as she walked over to her desk. She sifted through all the new books and supplies that had been brought school, but her wand wasn't there. She looked around all the girl stuff on her vanity table, she checked under both tables, and under her bed. No sign of her wand.

She opened the door to her wardrobe; which she had created a massive enlargement charm on. She walked in, and began to check in the pockets of clothes, but had no luck. She turned her room nearly upside down in the search for the pearl coloured wand. But when she couldn't find it she slid down the wall to the floor and put her head in her hands. _Dad is going to be really disappointed. _She sat contemplating where to look next. Then stopped. _I called him dad. I wonder if he would mind. _She began to think of what his reaction could be, forgetting all about the wand.

_Focus. Damn, focus Lilly. Where did I put that wand? _She nearly laughed, hoping that at that particular moment no one was listening in on her thoughts; it would be embarrassing to have someone hear her scolding herself. She slyly crawled to the doorway to the living room, and peeked in. Severus was sitting in a chair reading a newspaper. Lilly sat in the hallway, trying to work out to do.

"Lilly." He called out, sensing she was near. She stood quietly and entered the room.

"Yes?" She put on an innocent smile, immediately letting him know she didn't want him to know she was doing something she shouldn't.

"I was just wondering what you are doing." He peered at her over the paper. She paused, absently scratching her arm as she thought about an appropriate answer.

"I'm…uh…reading. Yes, reading a book." Severus tried not to laugh, Lilly wasn't being very convincing, which was slightly different, as she usually appeared so confident and it was easy to believe anything she said. He smirked, raising one eyebrow at her. Noticing she nearly flinched at that expression.

"What book?" Lilly's face paled, and for a moment he thought she was about to pass out. Lilly however, thought she had been caught out. She thought back to the books on her table, unable to recall a single title.

"The one on magical Mediterranean water-plants." She sighed; relieved that had popped into her head suddenly. Severus nodded, thinking if Lilly wanted any help she would ask. She hurried back out of the room, really feeling bad for losing her wand.

Severus sat up on his chair, a pearly stick falling out of the cushion beside him. He picked it up; betting in his head that the pale wand he held in his hand was what Lilly was so frantically looking for.

Lilly returned to her room, searching everywhere again. After having looked everywhere she could think of twice, she tried to remember where she had last seen it. But she couldn't even remember where it had been seen last. It was getting late, and she was getting tired and annoyed.

"Lilly." Severus only said her name, but it was enough for her to leave her room and sit in the living room with him. He looked at her gently; she was very tired, her eyes were dark, indicating she wasn't very happy, and she didn't show any trace of any expression on her face, as if she was deliberately holding all her emotions back.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently. She nodded slowly, trying not to let him work out that she wasn't being entirely honest. He raised an eyebrow slightly, not believing her. "What is wrong Lilly?" She shook her head, biting her lip. "Lilly? You can tell me." She didn't say anything; just kept looking at her little white ballet flats.

Severus sighed as he leaned back on her chair. It didn't take much for him to work out what the problem was. He picked up her wand, and held it up.

"Does it have anything to do with this?" Lilly slowly looked up, relief flashing through her eyes, before her cheeks picked up a slight pink tinge and she looked down at her feet once more. She nodded slightly.

"Why did you not come to me?" Lilly looked at her father as he spoke. She was ashamed, but she didn't want to tell him that.

"I didn't want you to be disappointed in me." She spoke quietly, her musical voice barely above a whisper. He stood up and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. She pulled away slightly.

"Lilly. I'm not disappointed you. So you misplaced something. It happens to everyone at some time. I would rather it wasn't your wand...but it's okay." Lilly looked up at him, he noticed her eyes had changed to a dark grey. He liked the way they changed colours with her mood; it made it easy to tell her mood.

"Really?" She whispered, trying not to let any tears out. She wasn't used to people being so nice to her. If she was back with her mother, and she lost something, she would be grounded for ages, and have some horrible and probably painful sort of punishment.

Severus nodded, and smiled as Lilly stopped pulling away from him and leant into his arms. He noticed his daughter was still very thin, and her temperature seemed a little too warm. But she didn't appear sick or anything. Behind her back he cast a quick spell to check if she was okay, but all was well. Finally, Lilly pulled back. She took the wand out of his hand, flinching slightly when a burst of blue sparks came from the tip upon contact with her hand. She stood up to head to bed, silently telling herself to put the wand away safely this time.

"Lilly?" She turned back. "I want you to know you can come to me. For anything. Okay?" Lilly paused, looking at the sincerity in his eyes. She nodded, smiling as her eyes lightened to a soft blue colour. Severus smiled to see she was happy once more.

Lilly crawled between the sheets, smiling. Tomorrow she would get to learn some awesome things with her wand. And it wasn't long until school started. Not long until she got to see her new friends again. And Draco. She listened hard, but Draco must have been asleep, and her father had his mind blocked. She fell asleep patting her little kitten as she thought about the upcoming new school year. And being with Draco.


	19. Wingardium leviosa

**The next chapter, as promised. I really need to get some more writing on this story, I need some inspiration!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own anything...yet**

**Thanks to Mic for reviewing, and to sharon777bear for adding this story to their favourites list.**

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Lilly waved her wand and uttered the incantation for the millionth time. And for the millionth time nothing happened. The transfiguration teacher stood off to one side, talking quietly to the short charms teacher. Both were concerned; they had been trying to teach Lilly for three hours, but she couldn't produce a simple levitating charm. Severus entered the room and the three began to conference while Lilly sat down, giving up.

The three adults looked at her sadly, trying to work out why she couldn't do any magic. They put it down to her Ayrliann side. Severus was very confused, having seen her work magic on multiple occasions. He thought of something, and led the other teachers over to where Lilly was sitting with a feather in front of her. He sat on the table next to her, she didn't look up.

"Lilly? Could you make the feather float without your wand?" She rolled her eyes and handed him the wand. Absently she lifted her hand, and the fluffy white feather floated into the air. With the slightest hand movements she made it swirl around the room, rise up, down, spin around. And the whole time her hand barely made any moves. In fact, if Severus hadn't have been watching her hand, if he had have been watching the feather like the others then he wouldn't have noticed her controlling it.

"How do you do that?" The tiny charms teacher squeaked. Lilly shrugged one shoulder.

"I don't know how it works. All I do is picture what I want to happen in my head and by moving my hand it happens. Some things, depending on how complex they are, can take quite a bit of concentration though. And it means I get headaches often." Severus looked at her with concern.

"You don't..." He started to speak, but Lilly read his thoughts before he could finish and she laughed lightly.

"Nah. Floating objects is easy. The lighter they are the better. And this is one of the first bits of magic we are taught." Minerva McGonagall looked at her.

"How old where you when you were first taught magic?" Lilly shrugged her left shoulder.

"I don't know. Generally we start from about 5 years." She didn't feel the urge to elaborate on her schooling.

"And you were how old?" Severus noticed she used the words 'generally we'. Lilly smirked, but didn't answer the question. Severus sighed. "Lilly?" She ignored him, not really wanting him to know how little school she had attended. She took her wand back, repeating the process she had been attempting for hours.

The adults watched in silence. The musical tone in her voice made the incantation sound a little off, but the charms teacher didn't think that was the problem.

"Lilly, you said some people back home used wands. How did..." Lilly spun toward Minerva as she spoke.

"Ayrliah is the place I come from. It is not, has never, and will never, ever be my home." The ice in Lilly's voice froze everyone in the room. Her mouth was set in a straight line, her eyes dark with fury. Minerva, surprised at the change in the little girl just nodded. Lilly, still annoyed, turned her attention back to the feather. Slowly, the three adults backed out of the classroom.

Severus turned and shut the door. Flitwick muttered something about talking to Dumbledore about the wand problems with Lilly, leaving Severus standing alone with Minerva. She had turned away from him, wondering what had happened to Lilly to make her hate her homeland so much.

"Minerva..." Severus started to talk, but she turned back toward him.

"What happened to her Severus? Why is she so afraid of that place?" Severus looked down, toward his hands. Then smirked before looking Minerva in the eye.

"I don't know. She doesn't talk about it often. And I don't want to force her into telling me. If she wants to talk to someone she will talk. To me, hopefully." He paused, thinking. "Or to Draco..." His voice trailed off. Minerva blinked a couple of time.

"Draco? As in Draco Malfoy?" Minerva looked away, unable to believe that sweet Lilly would get along with the stuck up Malfoy. Severus nodded, unable to fully believe it either. They heard a shriek, closely followed by a peal of laughter coming from the room behind them. Alarmed, they both rushed in.

**~**

Lilly noticed the adults slipping out. She didn't care. _How could she even suggest Ayrliah is my home? It never has been. It never will be. I don't belong there. Do I even belong anywhere? _She sat down on a desk, twirling her wand in her fingers. _You do belong, Lilly._ She jumped, the smooth voice in her head instantly making her smile. _Draco? _She idly waved her wand in the air. _Hey Lilly. You know, you really shouldn't snap at teachers. _Lilly smirked. _How long have you been listening to my thoughts? _ She hoped he hadn't heard all her failure at the spells.

_I've heard pretty much everything. _Lilly frowned. _Lilly, it doesn't matter that you are struggling with a wand, a normal wizard would struggle to be able to do wand less magic like you. _Lilly smiled again; amazed this guy had such an effect on her. _Lilly, how do you normally do magic? _Lilly filled him in quickly, still spinning her wand, which spat out various coloured sparks. She couldn't understand how she could create the sparks, but not make a feather float. No more thoughts entered her mind for a full minute, and Lilly was slightly worried.

_Have you tried thinking the incantation in your head and doing the wand movements? Like, doing the whole thing non vocally? It might be your prononciation that is affecting the spell, some of your words are said with an accent. _Lilly rolled her eyes, _I'll try. No guarantees. _Lilly slid off the desk and pictured the feather floating. _Wingardium leviosa. _Swish and flick. Lilly let out a shriek, then laughed.

**~**

Severus and Minerva burst through the door to see Lilly standing in the room laughing, her white wand held out and the feather floating in the air. She noticed them and lifted her other hand to wave, losing concentration causing the feather to float to the floor. She went to wave her hand to pull it back to her, but Minerva held her hand up, pausing Lilly in mid movement. Lilly sent a message of thanks to Draco, who congratulated her.

The adults asked her question after question, barely pausing for breath. Minerva was slightly worse, talking fast. She couldn't understand how come Lilly could work her wand so suddenly, why the wand worked now, and not three hours earlier. Lilly brushed off all the questions, eventually tuning out the older woman's voice as Lilly had a mind conversation with Draco. Severus quickly realised Lilly wasn't listening, but Minerva didn't.

Professor Flitwick walked through the door with Albus Dumbledore behind him. Minerva stopped talking as the men walked in. Dumbledore asked Lilly to show him the spell, she nervously held out her wand, with her other hand she pulled the feather back and onto the table. And with her wand out, her other arm down by her hand she concentrated. _Wingardium leviosa. _The feather lifted into the air.

Lilly smiled, and the adults returned it. Minerva showed her how to do the summoning spell so that she could bring the feather back. _Accio._ Lilly was having fun, asking for Minerva to teach her more. Severus stepped in, informing them it was lunch. He smiled to watch Lilly skipping along the corridors with the head of Gryffindor. He couldn't help but wish Lilly didn't get into Gryffindor. And Lilly spun around and gave him a cheeky smile; she had heard that thought.

**~**

A few days later Severus took his daughter into Diagon alley to get the last few books she needed, including the ones for her elective classes – care of magical creatures and divination. She hadn't wanted to take the last one; thinking it was boring, and the future was unpredictable, but upon finding out that Draco and Imoen were both taking the divination class made her decide to take it. Severus was just glad to spend some time with Lilly; the last couple of days she had been either learning new spells, hanging with Draco, or over at the Baldur's Manor, with Imoen and the older boy.

They walked past a window, where a group of boys were crowded around a window, looking at a broomstick. Lilly rolled her eyes as she walked past, muttering something about how stupid it was to fuss over a broom.

A boy with messy dark hair and glasses stepped back, nearly bumping into her. He stared at the dark haired girl in front of him, her bright green eyes the same colour as his. He thought she could have almost been his sister. But before he could say anything she backed away and dashed toward a man, also with dark hair, dressed in black robes. Giving him a strong reminder of the man he hated. His potions teacher, Severus Snape. But no way could there be a girl in Diagon alley with Snape. Could there?

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**Please Review!**


	20. A letter

**Sorry, I haven't been able to update for a while. But here it is. I will also be putting up a new story soon, A Hermione/Draco one, so feel free to check it out when it comes out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything much. Just Lilly**

**Thanks to Mic for being the only reviewer...again.**

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A boy with messy dark hair and glasses stepped back, nearly bumping into her. He stared at the dark haired girl in front of him, her bright green eyes the same colour as his. He thought she could have nearly looked his sister. But before he could say anything she backed away and dashed toward a man, also with dark hair, dressed in black robes. Giving him a strong reminder of the man he hated. His potions teacher, Severus Snape. But no way could a girl be in Diagon alley with Snape. Could there?

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Lilly smiled at the boy she nearly crashed into. She went to say something, but her father called her using telepathy. So she turned and dashed away, giving the boy a cheeky smile as she dashed away. She scanned the mind of the dark haired boy and was surprised to hear that she looked like him, and that the man she ran to, her father, looked like Severus Snape. Lilly giggled, the boy with the glasses didn't realise how right he was.

Lilly followed her father around, rather bored that she wasn't allowed to spend the day with her friends. And as soon as Lilly asked Severus about the dark haired boy and glasses, Severus looked at her coldly and told her to stay away from him. Of course, Lilly had no intentions of doing so. She couldn't help being curious. Or nosey.

**~**

Severus hadn't seen Lilly bump into the boy, but the description of him immediately told Severus that out of all the Hogwarts students for Lilly to bump into, she had to get Harry Potter, possibly his least favourite student. He tried to rush through everything they were doing in Diagon Alley so they could get back to the school.

Lilly tried not to let him know that she knew exactly why he was rushing and getting back to the school. She decided to ask if they could brew a potion when they got back; he was so distracted in trying to protect her that he might be just happy she wanted to stay home. And, well, he didn't really know, but Draco was away with his parents for the day, and Imoen and Dimitri were too busy to see her.

Lilly smiled as she gave the pepper up potions that she and Severus had just finished to the nurse. Poppy thanked them as she gave Lilly a quick check up. She asked Lilly to extend her wings so they could check them. Lilly sighed, but did as she was asked. She grimaced as her wings burst out of her skin.

Instead of the small wings she usually had, these fluttered out, extending a full three feet on either side of her. Instead of the pale blue ovals the flittered in the wind, a pair of white feathered wings came out. The lower feathers had slight pink tinge, but still looked translucent in certain lights. Lilly fluttered them slightly, amazed at how light they were. Severus and Poppy looked at each other, then at Lilly.

"What?"

"How?" Both adults said at the same time. Lilly shrugged her shoulders. She fluttered slightly and lifted off the floor. Poppy gently brushed her hand over the wings, the soft feathers barely bending under her hand. She stepped back and turned to Severus.

"I think it is time we did some research about Ayrliann people. Talk to some of her relatives if possible." She lowered her voice with the last line. Fortunately Lilly, who was too busy admiring her wings, didn't hear a word that Poppy had said. Lilly suddenly orbed away, to the owlery so she could jump off the castle and fly. As she floated through the air lazily, she hummed, happily. She watched the butterflies flying above the flowers and the centaurs marching though the forest, only visible through the spaces between the tree tops.

**~**

Severus looked out the window and saw Lilly floating on the air currents. After a while she landed on the ground and patted the blue unicorn he had seen around. He smiled at the sight of the fairy girl and the unicorn. A deep blue-black bird flew in through the window, a silver note in its beak. Severus idly patted the unknown bird, noting it resembled a very large raven, with a very large hooked beak. He slipped the note from its beak, the bird walked up and down the windowsill before settling down and preening its long feathers. Severus turned the silver note over, reading the tidy calligraphy writing.

_Lilly, there is a note here for you. _He sent her the message. He actually couldn't 'send' the message to her, but Lilly generally kept her mind open, so that when her name was thought, she would hear it. Lilly swooped up in the air, and done a pirouette, her new wings gracefully curled around her as she burst into millions of pink sparkles. She appeared right next to Severus, wings still curled around her tiny frame. She pulled her wings back into her skin and smiled innocently. Wordlessly he handed her the paper. She widened her eyes as she recognised the handwriting. Lilly delicately walked away into her room, and using her magic to shut the door, she sat in the silence of her room and opened the letter.

_Dear Lilly._

_I don't know if this letter will find you, but I am hoping it will._

_Mother returned home a while ago and told father that you had found your birth father and didn't want to come back. Congratulations, I am proud of you little sister. I don't blame you for leaving, but I do miss you._

_Silvanus and your sisters barely ever mention you, barely ever think of you. But I do, as does Lissa. You know, your dancing friend. She does well, but without her best friends, without you and Mel by her side she is just a ghost. You need to see her sometime. _

_Please reply as soon as you get this, let me and Lissa know you are safe and well. I have to leave Ayrliah sometime, but I won't until I hear from you. I, we need to know you are well. It is hard to go through every day without knowing how you are, where you are._

_Love, Lachen (and Lissa)_

_P.S. I overheard Silvanus talking to one of the guards, about another guard, Cerberus, who reported that you have the coloured bond mark. Do you?_

Lilly put the note down, as she did a silver chain slipped out of the envelope. Lilly held it up, a small silver ballet slipper pendant spun, its ice blue crystals reflecting the light. Lilly let a tear slip out; it was the necklace her best friends had gotten her for her tenth birthday. They each had one; Lilly had blue, Melodic, or Mel, had a pink one, and Vasilissa, or Lissa, had a yellow one. Lilly had never missed her friends and her brother, Lachen, more than anything in a long time. But the longing had returned. And she knew, they could never be together again; Mel was dead, and more than 100 miles separated Lilly from Lachen and Lissa. Crying, Lilly curled up on her bed.

Severus noticed that Lilly had been gone for quite a while. He gently pushed her door back gently and saw his little girl asleep in a ball on her bed. He knelt down to her level, brushing her hair off her face as he noticed the streaks from the tears on her cheeks. He picked up the piece of paper off the floor and silently read it. Lilly stirred behind him as he was reading. She sat up, not saying anything until he put the paper on her bedside table.

"Dad?" She didn't even realise what she had said, however Severus did, happy to hear her say that.

"Yes, Lilly?" She looked down.

"Will I be able to send a letter back?" Severus nodded, thinking of the over grown raven in the other room. He sat down as Lilly wrote a letter back. The silver necklace slipped from the duvet to the floor. He picked it up, looking at the pendant as the chain swung against his arm. He waited patiently until Lilly was done before he put the necklace around her neck. She clutched the blue ballet slipper in her hand as she stared out the window, her tears finally coming to a stop.

"Lilly. If you don't mind me asking, who are the people mentioned in this letter?" Lilly sighed and took a deep breath.

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**Please review and let me know what you think!**


	21. Bonding

**Here is the next chapter! I am putting it up earlier than planned because I need some reviews to make me smile!**

**Thanks to those who do review! And to Sadie for being there for me while I struggled with writing this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I might tomorrow...But tomorrow never comes!**

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"Lilly. If you don't mind me asking, who are the people mentioned in this letter?" Lilly sighed and took a deep breath.

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"The person who wrote it, Lachen, is my brother. He's older than me." Lilly paused, thinking.  
"About 21 I think. Melodia, she was his bonded mate, and one of my best friends. She was four years older than me. Vasilissa was the same age as her. She was my other best friend. We all met in dance classes. Ballet." She brushed a curl away from her eyes, recalling all the times she spent in dance classes.

_On Lilly's first day of dance class nothing went right. First, she was put into a class where everyone was at least four years older, and had already done ballet for at least two of those years. Then she found out she had the wrong colour leotard, and all the other girls had their own cliques that they stayed in. No one talked to her, not until the end of the day, after Lilly had struggled for the first half of the lesson trying to keep up, then realising she, unlike most of the others spoke fluent French and she had no problems learning and understanding all the movements. After four hours of dance, with an hour for lunch, two blonde girls approached her; Melodia and Vasilissa. _

_The three became friends really quickly, all sharing a love of animals and ballet. Despite the age difference Lilly quickly became one of the best in the class. When Mel bonded with Lilly's brother she couldn't have been happier for them. But then a wave of darkness washed over them; Lissa broke her ankle, so extremely she couldn't heal it, it would take healers from over the world to fix her shattered ankle; Mel disappeared, without any trace; Lachen went into a period of depression; Lilly ran away._

"Lissa and Mel were attacked one day. Lissa was left with a shattered ankle, like her bone was in millions of pieces, the biggest only a centimetre long. She had to give up dancing. She won't ever walk or dance as well as she could. Mel disappeared not long after her bond with Lachen had been weakened. She hasn't been seen since, well, not technically. Lachen was all depressed after that. And I think he might have been made worse after I left." Lilly looked down.

Severus didn't break the silence. _I wonder if I can get in touch with this brother of hers. She should see him. She needs to know about her Ayrliann side, and I would like to know about it too. I just hope she doesn't go to Ayrliah and decide to stay there. But if she wants too..._

"Lilly, did you..." He began to talk, but she interrupted him.

"I want to see my brother. But I don't want to go to Ayrliah." Severus smiled; glad she didn't want to go back, but interested in knowing what had happened there.

"Of course. We could ask him." Lilly nodded, adding a note at the bottom of her letter. She signed the bottom of it, and sealed it with her finger. She walked out the room, giving to note to the black bird on the window sill. She stroked it gently with her finger. She pulled away at let the bird fly away. She watched the large raven fly until it was so far, even she, with her enhanced vision, couldn't see it.

**~**

There were only three days until school officially started. Lilly was calm, yet excited. To her father, she just appeared to be calm and cool about it. Though Draco could tell she was excited. And nervous. She wanted to get into Slytherin; to be with her father and her friend, but she feared she would be put into one of the other houses.

She had met the heads of the other houses, but Lilly wanted to be in Slytherin. She had asked her friends what they had wanted. Dimitri wanted Gryffindor, he had given her this big speech about it, but Lilly read his thoughts and figured out he only wanted it because its symbol was the lion. Imoen hadn't said which one she wanted, just that she didn't want to be with her sisters.

Lilly stood in the dark in the astronomy tower. It was close to midnight. All the teachers had been in a meeting, so Lilly was free to do what she wanted. She gazed at the stars, watching them twinkle like tiny diamonds. All in pretty little clusters, creating pretty little pictures, except for a handful of smaller ones that sat on their own. As she watched, the smallest one moved from its spot and shot across the sky, with a shining tail behind it. She shut her eyes. _I wish that I will get into Slytherin, along with Imoen. _She paused, thinking. _And possibly Dimitri. _She took one last look at the sky and orbed straight to her room, jumping in to bed and falling asleep.

**~**

"_Lilly Butant__è__" McGonagall's voice rang through the hall. She was the only one left to be sorted. Lilly looked down the hall, her eyes searching for the familiar grey ones. Draco smiled at her as she took the seat. Imoen and Dimitri both waved at her from next to the blond boy. The hat was lowered onto her head. The crowd cheered as she headed down the aisle and sat next to her friends._

_**~**_

Lilly woke up with a start, a smile on her face. She jumped when she noticed she wasn't alone in her room. A pale blond boy sat at her desk, a book open in front of him. Silently she slipped out of her bed and tip toed across the floor until she was behind him. She swiftly put her hands over his eyes. He laughed and went to put his hands over hers. Lilly grinned cheekily as she pulled away and ducked down the other side of her bed, all before anyone could blink. Draco spun around and was surprised to find he couldn't see Lilly at all.

Lilly once again moved so fast he couldn't see her, this time however she stole the book he was reading. He turned back to his book, but the table was bare. Lilly dropped the book on the floor on the opposite side of the room and dashed off to the bathroom. Draco grinned, amused at Lilly's antics.

**~**

Lilly had no idea where her father was, but she wasn't too concerned, she was just happy to be spending the day with Draco. She came out of the bathroom to notice Draco was still reading the book, while absently rubbing his ankle. She glanced down at her own ankle; the black lined crescent moon with a many pointed star in the middle. The moon glowing a soft golden colour, the silver star twinkling in the light.

"Having fun?" Draco's smooth voice interrupted her thoughts. She nodded, her eyes bright and green. She walked over and pulled his hand off his ankle. A light outline of a crescent moon and a star was imprinted on his skin just below the outside of his left ankle. Lilly brushed her fingers over the marking.

"Do you know what this is Lilly?" She sat down on her bed, taking a breath. She lifted up her left leg and Draco gasped as he noticed the mark on Lilly's leg; the same as his own but hers was slightly more defined. He brushed his fingers over her mark, noting it was a few degrees warmer than the rest of her naturally warm skin.

"It's an Ayrliann mark, a symbol of bonding." He looked confused, so Lilly continued. "In Ayrliah, we believe we are made in pairs, like one soul in two bodies. One part goes into a female, the other into a male, generally two who are born not far apart." She paused, sending him a questioning look. "When is your birthday?" He raised an eyebrow.

"5th of June. You?" Lilly nodded, but didn't offer her own birth date to him.

"Anyway, when we are born we have these marks on our ankles." She indicated her marking. "But they are only a black outline. When we meet our soul mate and connect with them our marks fill in with colour." She gazed down at her own mark, filled with shining colours. "It is rare, very rare for an Ayrliann person to be with an outsider. This is why I don't really know what we can expect. I'm surprised you have developed a mark." She watched as he absently rubbed the mark. She frowned, scanning his mind and noticing the mark was irritating him a bit. "I didn't really notice my colouring come through, but I've heard it can be irritating until it fully develops." She ran one finger down his mark, instantly relieving the itchiness around the mark. She stood up, looking out her window.

"This is why we can read each other's mind so easily. There are other things, but they weren't explained to us until we are actually bonded. I know that bonded couples can orb straight to their partner. But I don't know how this will work with us."

Draco stood up, putting his arm around her gently. She turned, their faces a few inches from each other. Her cheeks flushed at the closeness. He smiled gently as he pulled her closer, no space between them at all. Draco used his free hand to tilt her Lilly's face upward. He gently brushed his hand along her cheek. Lilly tried to pull away but his arm around her waist stopped her. He lowered his head, just as her bedroom door burst open.

Severus burst through the door, and saw his godson and his daughter with no space between them. Draco's lips were very close to Lilly's. Severus whipped out his wand and without thinking blasted the two kids to the opposite sides of the room, creating a large amount of space between them. Draco was thrown against the wall, his leg catching the leg of Lilly's bed. Lilly hit the desk, and looked up at her father, tears in her eyes.

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**Please review!**


	22. Pushing them away

**This is a little later than I had planned due to FF not liking me :( Better late than never though**

**Disclaimer remains the same.**

**Thanks to those who read. Extra thanks to those who review!**

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Severus burst through the door, and saw his godson and his daughter with no space between them. Draco's lips were very close to Lilly's. Severus whipped out his wand and without thinking blasted the two kids to the opposite sides of the room, creating a large amount of space between them. Draco was thrown against the wall, his leg catching the leg of Lilly's bed. Lilly hit the desk, and looked up at her father, tears in her eyes.

Lilly couldn't believe what had happened. Her back hurt where she had hit the desk, and tears streamed down her face. She cringed as her father took a step towards her. Instinctively she created a shield in a blue bubble around her, but her emotional state magnified the strength of the magic so that the air was thick and no one but Lilly could move. She pulled the shield away, allowing the others to move. She looked at her father's face; livid with anger and disappointment. She flinched as he began to say something.

Severus opened his mouth to speak, but as he did Lilly disappeared. One second she was there, the next she was gone. He looked over to where his godson was, but he had disappeared too. He hit the stone wall in frustration, cursing loudly.

Lilly took a deep breath, and moving as fast as she could, she grabbed Draco's hand and orbed them both away. She had no particular destination in mind, and ended up in a corridor on the seventh floor. She slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees and lowering her head, trying to stop herself from shaking. _I can't believe it! For the first time, I felt safe. But nowhere is safe. Nowhere can I be guaranteed to not be hurt. _

Draco heard her thoughts but didn't comment, instead sitting down beside her. She shifted slightly, leaning into him. He put his arm around her, not saying anything.

Severus paced in his room, waiting. He had sent his elf, Misty, to find Lilly and/or Draco. But that had been two hours ago, and she had yet to return. He was getting worried. Severus didn't mean to snap, but the sight of his thirteen year old daughter about to kiss a boy really got him mad. He cleared his mind, allowing Lilly access. But if she had heard anything she hadn't sent anything back.

With a pop Misty appeared in the room. The elf was wringing her hands in the neat little dress she wore.

"I found them." Severus eyed her coolly.

"It took you over two hours to do so." Misty looked down toward the ground.

"It took me very little time to find the children." Severus took a step toward her, watching as the house elf flinched. He sighed inwardly; everyone seemed to be scared of him.

The little elf couldn't help but flinch when Severus took a step toward her. She had seen Lilly; who was clearly scared and had taken quite a while to calm down. Misty liked Lilly, she was nice to her, and never expected the house elf to do anything, unlike most other wizards.

"Why did you not bring her back? Or return earlier?" Severus snapped at her, annoyed the elf was showing loyalty his daughter, and not to her master as she should have been.

"Miss Lilly did not want me to return, not for a while." Severus took another step closer.

"Is that right? And why would she want you to stay away?" His voice dripped with ice. Misty trembled, considering going back to Lilly.

"She...she thought you would hurt me too. Just like you hurt her and the young boy."

Severus walked backwards and sat in his chair. He put his head down, ashamed.

"I hurt them?" His voice was softer, calmer. Misty nodded.

"Miss Lilly healed all the superficial bruises and bumps on both of them." The elf frowned at him, her facial expression reminding Severus very much of an older woman scolding her child. "She can't heal the emotional pain you caused her. She trusted you, as did the boy. She thought you trusted her. But instead you lash out and make her fear you, make her flee."

Severus bit his lip, stopping himself from snapping at the know-it-all elf. Instead he took a breath, counting to ten in his head.

"Where is she?" Misty shook her head.

"I cannot tell you that." He frowned, getting annoyed.

"Tell me." The elf shook her head again.

"No."

"Misty..." He got out of his chair. The elf squeezed her eyes shut and disappeared, no doubt heading back to Lilly. _If only I could follow the elf. _He paced a bit, trying to work out how to find them. _Draco will have to go home sometime, I could see him there and if Lilly is there I can get to her. If not, he can tell me where she is. _He shook his head, Draco clearly cared for the girl, there was no way he would give her location away.

Lilly, after calming down, had orbed Draco home, promising to stay safe. Then she wandered the castle. There was so much she hadn't seen, and she had no doubt that there was more to the castle that could ever be found out in a lifetime.

She walked around and around, looking at all the portraits on the walls. She had no intentions of heading home; she was too confused, and she didn't know who or what to trust. She jumped as the elf appeared beside her once more. Lilly smiled down at her, genuinely liking the little one. Misty bought Lilly some food, but she wasn't interested in eating. However, Misty stood there, her little hands on her hips, frowning until she ate a bit.

"Misty, what do I do? I don't think I can go back and see him." Misty cleared away the half finished meal and sat down next to Lilly.

"If you don't want to go back right away you don't have to." Lilly nodded, looking down at the ground sadly. She got up and continued to walk, until her feet hurt. She had just gotten the father she had wanted all her life; she didn't want to lose him so soon. And school started soon too. She didn't want to miss out on that. Perhaps she would take a dorm room; then she could stay there if she needed to.

By the time Lilly was down in the dungeons once more the sun had set and the world outside was dark. She pushed the door open as quietly as possible and tip toed to her room. She climbed onto her bed fully dressed and curled into a ball. Thoughts kept swirling through her mind, keeping her awake. However eventually exhaustion won and she drifted off to sleep.

Once Misty had left Severus put his head in his hands_. __If you keep this up, this brushing everyone close away like you have done for as long as I have known you, soon you will have no friends. You could even end up pushing your own daughter away. _The words Narcissa had said to him swirled through his mind. _I do push people away. I pushed Lilly away. Lilly, my own child, the one I have come to love more than anything, even in such a short time. But she doesn't know this... _ He sighed, trying to think of how to stop pushing people away.

He heard the door open, and straining his ears, he managed to hear Lilly tip toeing through. She didn't see him, just went straight to her room. She had left the door open a tiny crack, and he stood there and watched her. For a while she just lay there curled in the foetal position, but he noticed her eyelids beginning to shut. Her breathing evened out and he was sure she was asleep.

In her sleep Lilly shivered through her thin black top. Severus gently pushed opened the door and placed her soft pink duvet over her. She snuggled into it, sighing contently. Severus brushed her silky hair back gently.

"Lilly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you and Draco. I...just, I don't really think you are old enough for a relationship...but, it's your life. If you want to be with Draco, you can. I don't want to lose you because of this. I don't want you to get hurt...by anyone. I am very sorry. I don't mind you being with him, and if he breaks your heart, I'll be here for you. I love you Lilly." He took a breath; he wasn't sure if she was even awake to hear him. But Lilly shifted again.

"He won't." She mumbled lightly, slipping into sleep once more, a smile on her face. Severus kissed her forehead, smirking at her positivity. He couldn't see a way for Lilly to be so assured of Draco, but she was young. She would learn about relationships, and Severus hoped she didn't get hurt too often, if at all. He left her asleep, his thoughts drifting back to Ruby, and dancing, dating and how it felt when he kissed her.

"Love you too..." He paused at the door, faintly making out the whispers that left Lilly's lips. Those few words made him smile, his heart happy for the first time in many years.

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**Please review!**


	23. New Teachers

**A/N Sorry about the timing of this. I am getting into a pattern though, this will come every fourth day. I will be updating my stories every second day, and each time it will alternate between this one and my newer one, A Second Chance. And it is hard to find time to write both stories while keeping up with all my school work, but I am trying :)**

**Disclaimer remains the same.**

**Thanks goes to my reviewers! And to those who added this to their favourite stories/alert.**

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Lilly awoke with a smile. Her dad loved her, and she started school very soon. She didn't really want to talk about the previous day so she spent ages in the bathroom and choosing her clothes. When she finally emerged from her room Severus wasn't there. She slipped out the door and orbed away to near the forest. She looked up at the sky, a tremble running down her spine. She breathed in and out, trying to relax; there was no dragon trying to kill her. He was away in the wizard jail. He couldn't hurt her, or anyone else, anymore.

She smiled as Periwinkle Moon gracefully approached her. She offered her hand to the unicorn, which sniffed it then nuzzled her gently. Lilly stroked her pet, informing him of everything that had happened. Lilly smiled softly. Peri didn't say anything, but she knew he was listening. Peri was a rare unicorn, ice blue in colour, and with the intelligence of a centaur - a distant cousin - Peri was able to think and to talk, but chose to keep silent, letting Lilly read his mind rather than speaking out loud. They had a rare bond too; that was how they communicated and how Lilly could tell where he was and how he was without being anywhere near him. Peri could do the same, he also allowed her to ride on his back, his horn would never hurt her, and the gem at its base would change temperature depending on how Lilly was.

Lilly climbed onto his back fluidly and he smoothly cantered into the forest. His pace, though fast, was smooth and Lilly had no problems staying on. The only thing she had to keep an eye on was any low hanging branches. After one nearly hit her, brushing over her head as it left a trail of morning dew in her hair they began to slow down. Lilly couldn't see anything important around them, just a bunch of bushes and trees. With a bit of prompting from Peri, she slid off his back and pushed aside a small bush that grew in between two tall oak trees. She peered into the clearing, her eyes taking a moment to refocus on the light within. Standing in the light was a pale silver unicorn, its coat, mane and tail glittering in the sunlight. Peri stepped around Lilly and approached the other unicorn. When he lowered his head and looked at the silver unicorns stomach Lilly noticed that it was enlarged. The silver unicorn was pregnant, very pregnant.

Lilly backed away quietly, leaving the two unicorns alone. She couldn't wait to see the foal, but she would give the silver unicorn time; mother unicorns could be very protective about their foals. She released her wings, smoothly rising up in the air. This was her last day being able to fly; she would have to refrain from letting the other students see she was different; she wanted to fit in for the first time in her life.

Lilly didn't return to the castle until the sky had begun to darken. She joined the teachers in the great hall, but didn't see her father there. The other teachers were talking about the new teachers that were coming; a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and a teacher for Care of Magical Creatures. One of the teachers asked who the newcomers were. Dumbledore said a name and then another. Lilly looked at him, wondering which subject Ruby would be teaching. She asked him, but he didn't answer; he was more confused by Lilly referring to Ruby on a first name basis.

"We've met. What is she teaching?" Lilly was rather impatient.

"Care of magical creatures." McGonagall told her. Lilly nodded happily, secretly scheming to get her father with Ruby.

Severus decided to eat in his quarters, not feeling like putting up with the other teachers. Dumbledore had just finished telling him that the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher would be Remus Lupin, one of the people whom Severus hated the most. Not only that, Dumbledore had requested Severus make the wolfsbane potion for him. He didn't see a way out of it at all. He looked through his potions books for the recipe, jumping when Lilly pushed open the door.

She had a cheeky smile on her face, and her eyes were bright green. She looked at his book over his shoulder before walking away.

"Where were you?" He didn't dare mention the previous day.

"Dinner, where you should have been." Lilly didn't want to mention the other day either. She had heard him say she could be with Draco, and she didn't want him to go back on his word. He didn't reply, so she tried to get him to talk. "Professor Dumbledore said we are getting two new teachers...though they are all new to me..." She trailed off; allowing him to speak, but he didn't say anything. She sighed loudly.

"What's the matter?" Part of Lilly was scared to hear the answer, but she figured he needed to talk now and not snap. Again.

"Hmm...Don't worry." Lilly raised an eyebrow, now worried.

"It's not me is it? Not something about...yesterday?" She asked timidly. He shook his head.

"No, not you Lilly. And I am sorry for yesterday. I'm new to being a father, I'm learning though so don't expect too much. It's just" he indicated the recipe on the page, "this." Lilly sat on the arm of the chair, reading the recipe for the wolfsbane potion.

"What is this for?" She gave him an innocent look, trying to cover up her curiosity.

"Hmm, I don't think you should know Lilly." He turned his attention back to the book. Lilly pouted slightly, then thought about it and stopped.

"But you could tell me. Who do you know that needs a wolfsbane potion?"

Severus stood up and put the book away. He paused at the bookcase, wondering whether to tell Lilly or not. He knew she would be able to keep a secret, but the news might scare her.

"Your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." Lilly's eyes opened widely, and then she laughed.

"The Defence teacher, the one who should be teaching us defence against the dangerous animals such as werewolves, just so happens to be a werewolf. Wow...weird." Severus smirked at the irony.

"Yes, something like that." Lilly rolled her eyes.

"That's smart. I take it the other students won't know?" Severus nodded.

"You won't..."

"I won't tell them." Lilly interrupted, thinking about how she now had something over the teacher.

"Good." Lilly nodded as she yawned. She hugged him briefly and went to head to bed, to get some sleep before she began school.

"Lilly? Who was the other teacher? The one for the Care of Magical Creatures." Lilly smiled cheekily.

"You will meet them tomorrow." She ducked out of the room before she could give anything away.

"You could tell me. Save me waiting." He called to her door.

"Nah. Night!" She giggled as she settled into her bed.

"Goodnight." He lowered his voice, wondering why it was Lilly hadn't told him who it was.

Lilly awoke bright and early the next morning. She dressed in a short black dress, planning to change into her robes closer to when the other students would be arriving which wouldn't be until dinner time. Butterflies flittered through her stomach as she thought of the sorting that would occur just before dinner. Her dream had told her she would be in Slytherin. She crossed her fingers, hoping she dreamt the future. She focused her mind and called out to Draco.

_Morning! _She waited patiently for a reply, drilling her fingers on the table. _Good morning Lilly. You excited or something? _Lilly smiled as she heard the sleepy reply. _Just a little. I was wondering, what happens if I don't get into Slytherin? _Draco paused for a bit, _it doesn't matter what house you are in Lilly. I would think you would get into Slytherin; after all, your father is the head of the house..._ He trailed off, not saying what they both knew; that just because her father was the head of house, it didn't mean anything. Lilly didn't reply, so Draco carried on. _Is there not some elfish fairy magic thingy you can do to make sure you get what you want? _Lilly smiled widely; if the hat didn't want to give her the house she wanted, she would make it give her what she wanted. Lilly thanked him for the idea and left him to himself as he got on the Hogwarts express.


	24. Trains and Hats

**Usual disclaimers apply: I don't own anything you recognise from the books/movies. Any errors are my own fault, feel free to ignore them.**

**Thanks goes to my reviewers!!!**

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Draco Malfoy left his parents and headed for the train. He looked around at the crowd of students, scanning for a dark haired girl, before remembering she wouldn't be there. Sometimes he found it hard to remember; their thought conversations making it seem as though they were never far apart.

A high pitched cooing brought his thoughts back to the world, and he turned to see the pug faced Pansy Parkinson standing behind him. She threw her arms around his neck.

"Oh Drakey, I've missed you so much!" He pushed her off as he looked around for his friends.A soft musical voice entered his mind. _Drakey?! _He frowned, but relaxed as he heard Lilly's laughter in his mind. _I have to remember that one! Drakey..._ She dissolved into a fit of laughter that he found echoing through his head. _Glad you find it funny. Isn't there something you should be doing, not annoying me? _He snapped back, before realising it sounded very harsh. Lilly laughed a couple of times before informing him she would go out flying one last time.

Draco walked onto the train, finding Crabbe and Goyle already in a compartment with Blaise Zabini. He sat with them, Pansy following along like a lost lamb. She went on and on about her holidays and how much she missed him. He tuned her out, scanning Lilly's mind instead.

"Oh and Drakey, there was this person at your families ball, they looked a lot like you. And I thought it was you, but a few days later I realised it couldn't have been you." Pansy's squeaking bought him back to planet Earth. Across from him, Blaise shook his head.

"Why not?" Pansy laughed, her laugh irritating the ears of anyone close enough to hear.

"Because, Draco is loyal to me. And the other guy was with a dark haired girl all night." She rolled her eyes, thinking that boys could be so stupid. Blaise looked to Draco.

"Where were you at that dance?" Draco turned his attention away from the window beside him. His face held no expression. Blankly he looked at Pansy, wondering where she got this idea of him liking her. He shrugged once, not caring to answer that question. Pansy didn't say anything, happily trying to cuddle up to him. He pulled away as much as possible and stared out the window once more, continuing his conversation with Lilly.

It took a while, but eventually Pansy got bored of talking to herself and she excused herself. Draco waited until the door was shut before turning away from the window to face the other guys in his compartment. He rolled his eyes.

"Finally. Does she ever shut up?" Crabbe and Goyle didn't say anything, Blaise laughed with him though.

"Didn't you like her last year?" Blaise enquired, knowing he was right.

"Hmm. I don't know. How did I not notice how annoying she was?" He leaned back smirking. _I can only hope I'm not as bad as her then. _Draco rolled his eyes, before realising Lilly couldn't actually see him. _You're not. You are way better than her...what did I even see in her? _He paused, remembering his thoughts weren't private anymore. Lilly laughed, but then her voice faded.

"Hey, where were you really at that dance?" Blaise asked in an exaggerated whisper.

"Around." Draco didn't want to tell them about Lilly just then.

"With a dark haired girl?" Blaise had the feeling Pansy had seen Draco, and just didn't believe it. Draco shrugged a shoulder as he stood up. Crabbe and Goyle followed him wordlessly. He smirked at Blaise as he strode out of the compartment.

He noticed Potter and his two friends, and couldn't help but go over and annoy them. Draco hated Potter who was the favourite of a lot of teachers as well as the one who go all the attention. Not only that, but Harry was in Gryffindor, and played on their Quidditch team as the seeker; the same position Draco played, only in his opinion Slytherin was better.

He leaned on the door frame as he slid the door open.

"Well, look who it is." He sneered at the occupants of the compartment. "Potty and the Weasel." Behind him Crabbe and Goyle chuckled.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this summer Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?"The freckly ginger haired boy stood up quickly, bumping a basket to the floor. A sleeping man in the corner gave a snort. Draco automatically took a step back.

"Who's that?" Harry got to his feet.

"New teacher." He stared at Draco. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

Draco went to say something, but the melodic tone in his mind warned him not to, told him to walk away. He narrowed his eyes, staring the other boys down before finally turning away.

"C'mon." Crabbe and Goyle followed him, not stupid enough to start a fight under the nose of a teacher. They headed back to their compartment, waiting for the train to finally get to Hogwarts.

Lilly had flown around a bit, dangled a piece of string in front of her kitten, tried reading, but she was too nervous to focus on anything for too long. Severus was with all the other teachers, and she couldn't interrupt them so she wandered the grounds, listening to Draco's thoughts, occasionally offering her own. She was sitting on the grass, creating a daisy chain when a shadow came over her. She looked up to see the dark haired, blue eyed woman that her father had spent an evening with. The woman sat down next to her.

"Why aren't you on the train with all the other students?" Lilly shrugged a shoulder, wondering whether to tell her the truth. Lilly figured all the other teachers already knew, and she wanted to match her father up with this woman, so a little truth wouldn't hurt.

"My father is a teacher here." The woman looked down at her.

"Which one?" Lilly grinned cheekily, and then tried to focus on holding no expression; she didn't want this woman to know her plans.

"Severus Snape." Lilly looked at the woman as she spoke, noticing the woman looked surprised.

"You must be Lilly then." Lilly nodded smiling.

"And you are Ruby? I don't know your last name." Lilly paused, then "Professor."

Ruby pulled a face.

"I don't really like that...Professor...makes me sound old." They both laughed.

"Why are you not with the other teachers?" Lilly asked, unable to stop herself.

"I was. Our meeting ended, and I wanted to take a look at the forest before all the students came." Lilly nodded, then thought of something.

"Did you see my dad there?" She threaded a last daisy through her chain. Ruby thought about that.

"No. But the Headmaster did say there were a few teachers not there." Lilly nodded, searching for her father in her mind. He was in the potions lab, dealing with the ingredients he would need for the potion he would have to brew every month.

Lilly turned her attention back to Ruby.

"He's in his lab. Do you want some company as you go through the forest?" Ruby nodded, frowning gently.

"I was told it was the forbidden forest. And students were forbidden." She looked at Lilly sternly. Lilly looked at her innocently before her gaze wandered to the sky. Clouds were beginning to come in, some very dark ones threatened to release buckets of rain.

"You may want to delay your trip to the forest...It's about to rain." Ruby looked up in time to see the biggest cloud begin to drop its rain. They both stood up, Lilly abandoning her chain as they ran back to the castle, trying to keep as dry as possible.

They slipped through the doors, laughing. Ruby cast a spell that dried them instantly. Lilly went to ask how she did that but heard her father calling her, telling her the train would arrive soon and she should get changed. She pulled Ruby with her, taking her to the dungeons.

"Is this where the Slytherin house is?" Ruby asked as they walked through the empty corridors. Lilly nodded, and then turned to Ruby.

"Did you go to Hogwarts?" Ruby nodded.

"Yes, but I was in Ravenclaw." Lilly had to bite her tongue to stop her from saying 'nerd'. They stopped outside her father's office. Lilly opened the door allowing Ruby to enter before her. Once Ruby was through Lilly grinned and pulled backwards, shutting the door quietly as she dashed away.

Severus turned, hearing the door open. He went to tell Lilly to go and get changed, but stopped, tongue-tied when he noticed it wasn't Lilly who had entered, it was Ruby. She smiled happily at him, and then looked behind her.

"Uh...Lilly bought me down here. She was behind me..." Ruby's soft voice trailed off as Severus crossed the room.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was gruff; he was trying to decide whether Ruby's presence was a good or a bad thing.

"I just told you Lilly bought me here." She stared him down, not scared of him.

"No, what are you doing at Hogwarts?" He had thought his first question was obvious. Ruby smirked, realising he didn't know about the new teachers.

"I'm teaching Care of Magical Creatures." Severus took a step back, surprised. He then realised why Lilly hadn't told him. He nodded once, wondering how to get rid of the awkwardness in the air. Ruby noticed his hesitation and she crossed the room, standing directly in front of him. He crossed his arms over his chest, Ruby pulling them away, holding them in her hands. She leaned in close.

"You happy to see me?" Severus swallowed, unable to answer. Ruby laughed lightly. She released one of his arms, snaking her available hand around his back. She grinned then leaned in, lightly pressing her lips to his. She considering pulling away until she felt him pull her body right against his, and she knew she had done the right thing when he began kissing her back. Behind them, the door opened. Lilly realised what was happening and she gasped. The adults pulled apart to see her backing away with her hands dramatically covering her eyes. The adults laughed and she took her hand away, allowing her to see again.

"I was going to suggest we go down to the Great Hall...but...if you are busy..." She trailed off laughing. She shot a brief look at her father who looked away guiltily. She skipped down the corridors ahead of them, slowing down as she noticed the large group of students standing at the door to the hall. She noticed Imoen and Dimitri standing at the back. With one last look at her father she slipped away and stood next to her friends. The doors opened and they followed Professor McGonagall through the aisle.

Lilly looked around, amazed at how many students were sitting in the hall. She looked around for Draco, but heard his voice in her head before she spotted him. _Lilly, it doesn't matter...though...i'd prefer you didn't get Gryffindor. _She grinned, but then the nervous butterflies set back in.

Lilly was so nervous as she was waiting that she tuned out most of the first years being sorted. Minerva had told her the first years would be sorted first, then the Baldur family in order from youngest to oldest, then her. Her nervousness intensified as the youngest Baldur, Damon, was sorted into Gryffindor. She held her breath as Amelia was sorted into Hufflepuff. Clara followed her and Lilly relaxed; she hadn't wanted them in her house anyway.

Behind her back Lilly had her fingers crossed. She hoped the hat would put her in the same house as her friends. She focused her mind, hoping her magic could convince the hat to give her what she wanted. She clapped as the hat upon Imoen's head called out 'RAVENCLAW'. She gave her friend a grin as she went and sat down. Dimitri was introduced, just like his sisters and brother. The hat was placed on his head, half a minute passing before the hat once again cried out 'GRYFFINDOR'.

"Amarylis Butantè" Minerva said something about Lilly, but she was too nervous to hear it. When McGonagall indicated to her she gracefully walked over, wanting to grimace as the hat flattened her neatly arrange curls. Lilly was so interested in listening to the thoughts of all the students in the hall looking at her, that she forgot all about the spell. Lilly held her breath as the hat debated which house to put her in. _Ravenclaw...or Gryffindor..._ She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she didn't get Gryffindor; she didn't like their colour scheming. Her heart pounded as the hat opened its mouth.

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**A cliffhanger!!! Hehehe. Feel free to review!**


	25. Sorted

**A/N This is the third attempt at this chapter, each time I wrote Lilly into a different house. This one worked the best, and allowed for more twists later, so this is the one you get, hope you like it.**

**Thanks goes to those few people who leave a review after they read! It means a lot to get feedback!**

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Lilly held her breath as the hat debated which house to put her in. _Ravenclaw...or Gryffindor..._ She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she didn't get Gryffindor; she didn't like their colour scheming. Her heart pounded as the hat opened its mouth.

"GRYFFINDOR" it boomed. Lilly tried to hide her displeasure as she handed the hat back to Minerva. _Stupid hat._ She held no emotion as one table burst into applause – the Gryffindors. Minerva shot a smirk at Severus as Lilly walked down between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Lilly didn't look at Draco at all; she could feel his disappointment through their bond. One of the girls offered her a seat, introducing herself as Parvati Patil, a third year as well. Lilly smiled at her gratefully, and looked at the people around them. As the hat was being taken out of the hall, Lilly contemplated setting the hat on fire, but her plans were interrupted by the entrance of a girl with very bushy hair, and a familiar boy.

She tried to work out where she had seen the messy looking boy as he walked toward her. She noticed the girl looking at someone in disgust, and turned to see a ginger haired boy all but drooling as he stared at her. Lilly felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so she looked at the newcomers. She noticed the brown haired girl whispering. Lilly focused her hearing in on the conversation.

"Sit next to the dark haired new girl, the one next to Parvati." The girl paused, giving him a stern look. "Unless, you don't think you will be able to control yourself and look like a fool like Ronald."

The boy laughed at what she said. "I'll be fine. I'm sure I've seen her before." He looked at Lilly quizzically, then looked away quickly when their eyes met. Lately, Lilly's eyes spent most of the time being either green or blue, so in order to not stand out, she learned a colour change charm and cast it, making her eyes permanently appear a green colour except for her father, who was the only one who could see the true colour. She didn't know it was so he could tell her mood even when she didn't say anything about it.

Harry listened to the rest of Dumbledore's speech, only occasionally looking at Lilly, trying to work out where he had seen her. She didn't look at Dumbledore, didn't even appear to be listening, instead she looked preoccupied within her thoughts. In truth, she was trying to shut down her mind, so Draco couldn't get in. She could tell he was very annoyed that she was put in Gryffindor, but he hadn't attempted to speak to her. At least she had Dimitri in her house, even if he was sitting down further with a pair of cheeky looking twins.

She continued looking at her hands until she heard the hall show a slight bit of applause. She clapped along, a little unsure why they were applauding. She stopped her clapping, looking at her nails, which she had painted black, until the hall clapped again. She looked toward the head table, careful not to look at her father, and noticed Ruby was smiling. Lilly figured she had been introduced. She noticed the boy next to her smuggling a look at her again, so she shot him a brilliant smile. The food appeared in front of them, and he turned to her.

"Diagon Alley!" He blurted out. Lilly raised an eyebrow at him. He laughed awkwardly. "That's where I have seen you before!" Lilly looked at him. His green eyes behind the glasses twinkled, he smiled at her.

"Yeah, I remember you." She laughed. Harry put his hand out.

"I'm Harry...Harry Potter." He watched her face as he said that. She didn't show any sign of recognising his name. He grinned as he realised she had no idea who he was; sometimes being famous got boring. She took his hand.

"I'm Lilly." She didn't offer a last name. Parvati turned to her.

"I thought Professor McGonagall introduced you as Amarylis?" Lilly screwed up her nose at that comment. Harry laughed.

"It's Lilly. I really don't like being called..." She paused, shuddering, "Amarylis." Harry and Parvati laughed along with her. They introduced her to Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. Hermione scowled as she noticed all the guys, with the exception of Harry, were looking at Lilly with lust filled eyes. It hurt Hermione to see Ron looking at Lilly like that, but she ignored all the staring boys, talking to Harry and Parvati the most. Hermione sat quietly, watching this new girl. She noticed that Lilly had a funny way of pronouncing some words, and that she was thinner than all the others in their year. Hermione hoped she didn't have an eating disorder. And Lilly's lack of appetite didn't help any.

When it came time for the students to head to bed, Professor McGonagall called out to Parvati and Lilly, informing them that Lilly would be in the same room as Parvati and Hermione. McGonagall also congratulated her on getting into Gryffindor, but noticed Lilly wasn't as pleased about it.

"Lilly what is wrong?" She enquired quietly.

"Do you think...do you think my father will be annoyed?" Lilly looked at the ground, downcast.

"Lilly, he will get over it. He will have to." Lilly nodded, then followed Parvati out of the hall.

She noticed Draco standing with a large group of Slytherins. She looked at him, but when he noticed her he made no effort to communicate. Lilly was very annoyed; Draco had told her what house she was in didn't matter, and now he was annoyed with her. A girl with a short dark bob cuddled up next to Draco. Lilly was disgusted to see he didn't push her away. Turning on her heel, she linked arms with Parvati and headed off to Gryffindor Tower. Lilly was pleased to see the room she would be sharing with Parvati, Hermione and another girl, Lavender Brown, whom Lilly hadn't noticed in the Great Hall.

As Lilly settled down to go to bed, she thought about all the people she had just met. She liked Parvati best of all the girls; Hermione seemed very quiet, and Lilly didn't need to read her mind to work out the other girl was annoyed that the red haired boy was pretty much drooling over Lilly. Lavender didn't seem too bad, if a little odd. Lilly figured she would give her a chance though.

Harry seemed like a great guy to Lilly. At least he didn't act like Draco. Lilly didn't know what to think of the other Gryffindor boys...they appeared to be rather shallow, staring at her for her looks. Again, that was something she didn't need to read from their minds. And Lilly hadn't missed that it wasn't just the guys in her year staring at her, she caught guys from all year levels, and from all houses, watching her. It made her very self conscious. She chatted with two of her roommates for a bit, before the other, Hermione, hissed at them to go to sleep.

Lilly awoke early in the morning. She had done a little of unpacking of the suitcase she had packed last minute to take with her to her dorm. She sat up, opening the curtains of her four poster bed. The sun, barely risen, was peeking through the window into the room. It provided enough light for Lilly to look around.

The room, though dark, had stone walls and all the furnishings were scarlet or gold. Lilly didn't particularly like the colour scheme, but she figured it would grow on her. She noticed her robes, which she had hung on the door to her wardrobe, now had the Gryffindor symbol, the lion on them. She didn't know what the time was, but none of the other girls where awake. Lilly silently headed to the bathroom, taking a shower and dressing, well before the other girls were awake.

She sat on her bed, her potions book in front of her. She stared blankly at the page, her concerns over her father, her boyfriend, her housemates and her classes swirled in her mind. She leaned back, not noticing the other girls getting up and dressed. It wasn't until Lavender walked over, shutting the book as Parvati gently tugged on her arm, that Lilly became aware of what was going on around her.

They headed down to the Great Hall, Lavender on one side of Lilly, chatting happily with Parvati who was on the other side of Lilly. If either girl noticed Lilly's lack of talking they didn't say anything, figuring she was probably just nervous about the classes. As they walked into the hall, Harry waved at them to join him. Lilly let her eyes wander toward the Slytherin table, noticing Draco doing a ridiculous swoon of something, a large gang around him laughing. When he noticed her he leaned toward the girl with the bob cut. Lilly sat down with the other Gryffindors. She picked at her breakfast, and barely looked at her timetable. Here she was, finally starting a decent school, and she couldn't find it in herself to smile.

Harry noticed Lilly wasn't very happy. She nearly burst into tears when she heard Ron mention that they had the Slytherins in nearly every class. He considered talking to McGonagall, but when he looked at the head table, it wasn't the Gryffindor Head of House he noticed, it was Snape, and the sad look he wore on his face.


	26. Divination

**Disclaimer: I don't own it, and apologize for any errors. **

**Thanks goes to the awesome people who review after they read! And thanks to Moosh for correcting the errors she found!  
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She nearly burst into tears when she heard Ron mention that they had the Slytherins in nearly every class. He considered talking to McGonagall, but when he looked at the head table, it wasn't the Gryffindor Head of House he noticed, it was Snape, and the sad look he wore on his face.

Severus Snape sat watching the students. He noticed Draco came in, his fan club following him. Severus failed to see his dark haired daughter in the crowd. At first he was a little upset that Lilly had been put in Gryffindor, but he couldn't deny that he was glad she got into there. Once the shock wore off, he accepted her housing placement; he worked out that everything will turn out fine. The first Lily he knew, Lily Evans was in Gryffindor, and she turned out fine. He did think it was weird that Amarylis called herself Lilly, that being the name he would give a child if he had one. Severus made a mental note to ask her how she got her nickname.

When Lilly finally did enter the hall, he seen she was – despite all her attempts not to show it – upset and angry. Severus made a mental note to seek out Draco, to point out how he was hurting her, and Lilly, because Minerva had told him that Lilly was scared of his reaction to her house placement. He noticed she barely looked over her timetable, instead just sitting with her housemates appearing to be interested in the conversation. Her pitch black eyes told him otherwise.

Lilly looked up as someone put their hands on her shoulders. She turned to see Dimitri standing behind her. She hugged him; he was someone familiar who wasn't turning away from her. Even Imoen seemed to be having a good time with her new Ravenclaw buddies. Dimitri sat in the empty space next to her, drawing her attention away from the conversations around her.

"Lilly, you enjoying being a lion?" He asked casually, running a hand through his messy hair. He failed to notice how the girls glared at Lilly, and sighed as they stared at him. Lilly looked down, not answering her question. Dimitri gave her a half smile.

"Lilly, have you spoken to your father yet?" He enquired quietly. She shook her head. He looked up at the Professor who was trying his best to ignore the chatty Ruby beside him.

Severus got up from the table, heading between the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables. He shot a glare at Draco which quickly shut him up. He continued down, avoiding all the glares directed in his way.

"Lilly." Dimitri whispered. He indicated her father, walking down the aisle.

"Please don't stop...please don't stop" She chanted under her breath. She wasn't ready to talk to him yet.

"Lilly..." She heard him say. She sighed, turning around. She didn't say anything, just looking at him. Across the table Harry and Ron glared at Snape. Lilly sighed again, standing up.

"Lilly..." Both boys said at once. She turned to them, flashing a brilliant smile. She could tell both boys didn't like their Potions Teacher.

"I'll see you in..." She paused, looking down at her timetable, "Divination." The boys, along with the other Gryffindor students in their years said a chorus of 'goodbyes' and she gave a small smile as she followed her father out of the hall.

"Well done for getting in Gryffindor, Lilly." He managed to say. Lilly looked up at him surprised. They had stopped not far from the Hall, but away from the traffic of students.

Lilly looked at him sceptically as she asked, "you're not mad?" She sighed in relief as he shook his head.

"Lilly, to me it doesn't matter which house you are. Minerva will probably rub it in...But you're happiness is all that matters. And...The Gryffindors seem to like you..." He paused, thinking of Lilly's new friend. Of all the people she had to meet and get along with, it had to be Harry Potter.

Lilly picked up on Severus' thoughts about Harry. She frowned. "You honestly don't mind where I got placed?" She studied his face carefully, looking for any sign of lying.

"I don't mind. I would rather you weren't friends with Potter...but it's your choice." Lilly smiled in satisfaction when his face showed nothing but honesty. She threw her arms around him. He looked at her shocked. Then hugged her back.

"Won't people have seen that?" He couldn't help but ask. The way Lilly's green eyes twinkled told him she was up to no good.

"They had their attentions diverted for a moment." He nodded, guessing she had done something like that. "Oh, and I'm not going to stop being friends with Harry, at least he is nicer than Draco." She scowled as she mentioned the blond traitor.

"He is still not talking to you?" Lilly shook her head. Severus took a deep breath, "Lilly, you don't think your friendship with Potter has anything to do with it?" She looked confused. "Potter and Malfoy are enemies."

"So? What has that got to do with me? I can be friends with whoever I like." In her mind, that logic worked. Lilly couldn't see why the boys didn't like each other, let alone wouldn't like her for conversing with the other.

"Lilly, the guys might not see everything your way." Severus felt he had to point it out to her, before she did something drastic.

"Stupid guys." She scolded. Someone calling out her name took her attention for a moment. She smiled at her father once before dashing after the two Gryffindor girls she had been getting along with. She was halfway up the stairs before Severus noticed Lilly wore black ballet flats rather than the plain black shoes worn by anyone else. The sight of it made him chuckle, he had guessed Lilly would try and change her uniform. _How did that girl get into Gryffindor? _

Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Hall after seeing another of Draco's ridiculous impression of a fainting fit. Just outside the hall they noticed their Potions Teacher heading down toward the dungeon, laughing at something. Harry and Ron both watched him with their mouths wide open. Hermione made an impatient sound as she pulled both boys away.

Lilly was surprised when she entered the Divination classroom. She thought the room, with its clutter she thought it looked a bit like a gypsy caravan she once seen. Though, Lilly had only seen a caravan once, she couldn't really compare the classroom to anything she knew. It was quite a change from all the sterile cold classrooms she was used to. Her enhanced senses had picked up a perfumery scent well before she had entered the room, and upon entering she felt like she had been hit by a brick, the scent washed over her, sticking in her nose and in her throat, making it hard to breathe.

She sat on one of the pouffes, Lavender and Parvati sitting next to her. They had Divination with the Slytherins, but they hadn't noticed any of them in the room yet. The scent was hurting her head, and Lilly doubted she would be in the classroom for long. She was vaguely aware of other people entering, and the teacher speaking, but the fumes where hurting her head, throat and making her skin itch. Lilly silently scowled, wondering if there was some spell of potion to relieve her of her enhanced senses. Though, she wouldn't ever want to lose the senses; she liked being able to see in the dark and pick up on conversations on the other side of the room.

Lilly's thoughts didn't return to the planet until Harry put a teacup in her hands. Lilly screwed up her nose. _Eww, do I have to drink this? _She looked up, noting she must have said that out loud, because most of the people nearby were looking at her. Harry laughed, but she could tell he didn't want to drink it either.

"Harry, I'm serious. Do I actually have to drink this? It looks like thinned out mud." She whispered this time. A few students around her were drinking the muck, but she really didn't want to.

"Yeah, I believe we have to." He smiled as Lilly screwed up her nose, well one side of it. He'd never seen anyone do that before, and he thought it was quite cute. He tried the tea, and found it wasn't too bad. Lilly however was not drinking it. She gingerly took a sip, and to her disgust she found it tasted as bad as it looked. She checked no one was looking and she made the 'tea' vanish back into the big teapot. Harry started to laugh, and as he was drinking at the same time, found himself choke a few times. When he came right he finished with his cup quickly, switching with Lilly while he watched Hermione and Ron argue over their cups. Glancing around, he noticed Malfoy was watching Lilly's every move closely.

Lilly stared at the lumps in the teacup.

"What do you see, my dear?" The teacher came up behind her. Lilly swiftly turned to face the teacher, jumping when she noticed how large her eyes were. Lilly shifted away from the teacher, looking in the cup once more. The Professor remained behind her, so Lilly figured she had best say something.

"Uhh...this looked like a cross..." Lily trailed off. She couldn't see a cross in the cup. All she could see was lumpy soggy leaves. Before she could react the cup was snatched from her hands.

"Hey!" She turned to see the teacher peering into Harry's cup. Figuring her job was done, Lilly relaxed, crossing her legs elegantly, looking at her cute black ballet flats she was wearing. She hated the other shoes, and if a teacher noticed she could just cast some illusion or something, so she figured she was safe; rules and following them was not her favourite thing in the world.

"The falcon...my dear, you have a deadly enemy" Professor Trelawney's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"But everyone knows _that." _Hermione whispered loudly. Lilly giggled and shot her a smile. The other girl returned the look. Ron and Harry stared at Hermione, leading Lilly to believe the girl was normally a bookworm; a well behaved teachers pets. Lilly frowned inwardly. She didn't like bookworms, much preferring to make up her own rules to suit herself, just like her shoes.

"The club...an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup..."

Lilly leaned in toward Harry, whispering, "How can a cup be happy? It's a cup." Harry coughed to cover the laughter.

"The skull...danger in your path, my dear."

"Or pirates..." Lilly muttered under her breath.

There was the sound of a cup hitting the floor and breaking. Lilly rolled her eyes, wondering why the woman didn't replace the china cups with something less...breakable. The Professor sank into a chair, holding one hand over her heart, her eyes firmly shut.

"My dear boy...my poor dear boy...no...it is kinder not to say...no...don't ask me..." Lilly and Harry both shook their heads at their teachers dramatics. Harry looked at his cup, unable to see anything in it, not even the club, the skull or the falcon.

"What is it?" Lilly asked nicely. She noticed all the people getting closer to see the cup, making Lilly feel claustrophobic. She gently pushed out an invisible shield, shifting people away from her and Harry. No one appeared to notice, they were too busy waiting to find out what was in the tea leaves.

Suddenly Professor Trelawney's eyes opened dramatically. "My dear...you have the Grim." Lilly and Hermione both rolled their eyes in synch.

"The Grim...reaper? Since when does he live in tea cups?" Lilly muttered with faux innocence dripping from her voice, making Hermione snort at her comment.

Above them, Draco had seen Lilly talking with the other Gryffindors. He was insulted she hadn't even looked at him. He grinned evilly as the Professor said that Potter had the grim in his tea cup. He could have some fun with that...or could have if he had Lilly with him. As it was, Lilly occupied all his thoughts, and he couldn't focus on anything, not even on bullying other people.

He watched as Granger proclaimed loudly that it didn't look like a grim. He watched the Irish Gryffindor, Finnegan was leaning over the cup, squinting and saying something under his breath that made Lilly laugh. Draco glared at them, deciding he had to get rid of Pansy and get Lilly back. Soon.

"It looks like a Grim if you go it like this..." Seamus squinted and looked at the cup from one side. He leaned to the other side, opening his eyes, "but it looks like a donkey from here....Some Grim." He made air quotes around the second 'Grim'. Lilly laughed, loving the people in her year. The perfume smoke was still hurting her head, but being with the people around her was stopping the pain from distracting her.

When they finally left, Lilly noticed some people, mostly Slytherins, took off very quickly. She walked down the stairs with Seamus at her side, talking to her constantly. She worked out quickly she smiled and nodded he wouldn't even notice that she wasn't listening. Her head still felt fuzzy from the smoke in the room.

An arm reached out in one corridor, pulling Lilly roughly by the front of her robes. She found herself being pushed up against the wall by a taller Slytherin girl. Her bob cut, smirk and dark eyes told Lilly that this was the girl who was crushing on 'Drakey'. The other girl, Pansy, she thought Draco had called her that, held a wand at Lilly's throat.

"Give me a reason to not hex you into oblivion." Pansy hissed in Lilly's ear. Lilly screwed up her nose at the other girl breathing in her hair. Somehow they had managed to get the attention of everyone else. Draco, though a little amused to see what Lilly would do, walked up. Behind him, his best friend, Blaise Zabini, noticed Draco was very amused at the thought of two girls fighting over him.

Lilly smirked, noticing Pansy did resemble a pug slightly. She felt her vision blur for a few moments, but as soon as it came back she giggled and wandlessly said some French words under her breath. Instantly Pansy lost her grip on Lilly. The students gathered around watched in surprise as Pansy shot down toward the ground, her skin darkening and her limbs shortening. Everyone burst into laughter when they realised what Lilly had turned Pansy into.

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	27. Drained

**A/N Fanfic doesn't like me! It wouldn't let me upload this chapter, so I have had to copy and paste it...and now it won't allow my usual break (the stars). But it is here.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly. Thanks go to the very few people who bother to review after they read.**

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The students gathered around watched in surprise as Pansy shot down toward the ground, her skin darkening and her limbs shortening. Everyone burst into laughter when they realised what Lilly has turned Pansy into.

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"A dog?" Someone shouted out.

Lilly stepped over the dog. "Technically, a pug."

The crowd erupted in laughter. Draco walked over, putting his arm around Lilly. She leaned in, laughing, before she remembered she was annoyed at him. She went to pull away, but her head spun, her vision blurring once more, so she leaned into him. She looked down at the dog; it really was the ugliest she had ever seen.

Severus Snape heard the calls of laughter. He headed toward the sound and saw a group of Slytherins and Gryffindors surrounding a dog. All of them laughed hysterically when the dog barked and then whined. He looked for the culprit, his eyes going toward Harry. He watched as Seamus Finnigan gave Lilly a hi-five. Judging by the amount of people giving her smiles or talking to her, Lilly was the one behind the prank. When the students noticed the Potions Master walking up behind them, the students shut up instantly, a few even ran away. Lilly was the only one who didn't see him.

He put his hand on her shoulder and she stopped laughing. She could tell who it was without turning around. _Damn...I'm going to be in so much trouble. _

"All of you...off to class. Lilly..." He sighed, turning and cast a spell on Pansy. No one had left, only backed away and watched in surprise as the spell failed and Pansy stayed a dog. He cast a different spell; this one also had no effect. Minerva McGonagall walked up behind them, and was shocked to see the dog. Her eyes widened as she scanned for the culprit. She settled her gaze on Lilly, who was looking very pale.

All the students looked at Lilly, who was still leaning on Draco. Severus narrowed his eyes as he scanned her pale face, looking for some sign, and some clue as to why she was looking so pale. Draco, with his arm still around her, brushed her hair back, his hand grazing her face. As soon as his hand made contact with her skin he pulled his hand back; her face was ice cold.

Severus took a step forward, standing to the side of Lilly. Faintly, out of the corner of her blurry eye, she could make out his form.

"Lilly, can you reverse this...please?" He lowered his voice to just above a whisper. She heard him, and didn't move as she muttered the words to turn Pansy back. A loud popping sound filled the air as Pansy the dog grew so fast no one could see it. Everyone burst into applause as Pansy appeared, fully human, on her hands and knees on the floor. Embarrassed she got up and took off before anyone could stop her. Those still standing in the hall looked toward Lilly, those closest watching as she shuddered once before she let go of everything, falling towards the ground.

Draco had no problem catching Lilly before she could hit the ground, her very light weight easy to support. Severus began to move closer and check what was wrong, but she came around before he did anything. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to focus. Minerva muttered something to Severus, and Lilly felt him pick her up in his arms. Around her, all the students' voices buzzed until a snap from Snape made them shut up. Lilly tried to focus her vision on the castle walls but the steady rocking movement made her drift into an uneasy slumber.

Lilly awoke to find herself in the infirmary. A wave of déjà vu ran through her as she struggled to sit up. Almost instantly a vial was pushed into her hand. Her head pounded heavily as she swallowed the potion, screwing up her nose at the taste. She leaned back on the pillow, closing her eyes as the headache dulled down to nearly nothing, allowing her to slip into a more restful sleep.

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"How is she Professor Snape?" Severus, who had been watching Lilly sleep after he had finished all his classes, jumped at the voice of Hermione Granger. The girl stood not far from him, Potter and Weasley stood to either side of her, glaring at him. He didn't comment; just let them approach the side of the bed slowly. Turning his attention back to Lilly he ignored the other three Gryffindor students, all of whom were wondering when Hell froze over – Snape didn't show anything for Gryffindors, or any house but his own. Even then it wasn't very often.

"Professor?" He heard Granger's voice interrupt his thoughts. He sighed, turning to see her sitting on a chair next to Lilly. He didn't bother to reply, knowing full well the know-it-all would speak whether he allowed her to or not.

"What's wrong with her?" She demanded. Severus gave her a cold look.

"Unless you can read her mind, we won't know until she wakes up." He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake the sleeping child.

"Oh." That seemed to shut her up. Silence flooded through the room, no one wanting to talk.

The door opened with a loud crash. Draco Malfoy strode in as if he owned the place. The second Harry noticed the Slytherin, he rose, his wand in his hand. Draco just smirked as he made a beeline for Lilly's bed, sitting on the side of it, automatically taking her hand. Harry, Hermione and Ron all looked at him in shock, but Severus barely noticed.

"Divination." Draco muttered quietly. Severus snapped his head up.

"What about it?" He demanded quickly.

"It's what caused this...all the smoke in the room and Lilly's over sensitivity...Drained her magic levels trying to get rid of the effects of the smoke. Then the other magic she used..." He added quietly. Severus nodded, considering talking to Trelawney about this; she was effectively poisoning the children.

"How do you know that, Malfoy?" Harry's voice pierced the ear.

"I read her mind." He muttered, trying not to wake Lilly. Harry and Ron looked at him sceptically, as Snape spelled a potion into Lilly, unable to believe anything that Malfoy said. It was too late though, Lilly began to stir. She opened her eyes, happily noticing the world no longer spun around.

She looked around, smiling weakly at her Gryffindor friends and at her father. She could feel the tension in the room, but chose to ignore it. Around her, everyone sat silent, just watching her. She shivered gently, not at the cold, but at the attention.

"What time is it?" Lilly asked, interrupting the silence in the room with her musical voice.

"Nearly dinner time." Severus replied.

"I missed all my classes?" She said worriedly, hoping she didn't miss a lot.

"I have all the notes for you, Lilly." Hermione told her, timidly eyeing the Slytherin boy and the Potions teacher.

"Thanks, Hermione." Lilly sighed a breath of relief. She tried to recall her timetable, but couldn't remember it. It was as if a misty veil was covering parts of her mind. She tried to scan the minds around her, but only two came through; Draco's was the clearest, closely followed by that of her fathers. Even then, Draco's thoughts were not much louder than a whisper.

"What...?" She began, but was interrupted quickly.

"You effectively had your magic drained." Severus said quietly. Lilly frowned,

"It's there, I can feel it...I can't access it though..." She tried making something happen, anything, but she couldn't get to the magic. Her focus was broken by Madame Pomfrey bustling over, checking Lilly was okay and that her temperature had risen back to normal. Her icy cold skin had been what worried the adults the most.

"Is she..?" Severus only spoke the little Poppy needed to guess what he was meaning. The witch nodded her head.

"She is almost back to normal, her temperature remains a bit low, which is a little concerning." The witch remembered the scare she had gotten when she had first taken Lilly's temperature, not long after Severus bought her in from the forest. Lilly's natural body temperature was at a level near fatal for humans.

"You will stay here overnight." She put her hand on the young girls shoulder as Lilly went to stand up. Lilly gave a dramatic sigh and went to protest. "No protesting. If you want to be able to work your magic and attend classes tomorrow, then you will eat dinner in here and then go to straight to sleep." Lilly rolled her eyes, but under a stern look from both her father and her boyfriend, she gave in.

"Don't you three have somewhere else to be?" Severus glared at Harry, Hermione and Ron. Ron quickly backed away, not wanting to be anywhere near Snape, and too confused about his behaviour to think. Hermione made to give Lilly the notes she had written for the girl, but Severus plucked them lightly from her hand, stating something about Lilly being too busy.

"How come he doesn't have to leave?" Harry pointed at Draco, who smirked in return.

"You have three minutes to be out of here and on your way to the Great Hall before I come back or you will receive a week's worth of detentions that you will never forget." Severus' silky voice was cold and low, terrifying every bone in Harry, Hermione and Ron's bodies.

Severus slipped out of the room allowing the three minutes he gave them. _Three minutes too many._ He was worried about Lilly, but he didn't want to have to explain their relationship to her friends. It was easier for everyone if they didn't know the truth. Better for him, better for her, better for everyone. His silent mulling was interrupted by an owl dropping a note onto his lap.

_Severus, come and see me as soon as possible._

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